The Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities Terras do Infante approved, on July 14, a motion that “strongly rejects the situation of degradation, difficulty and inequality in the access of citizens of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo to hospital care in various specialties and in particular to perinatal care', namely with the closing of the Hospital do Barlavento Algarvio Maternity Hospital, in Portimão.
In the motion, the municipal officials responsible for the municipalities of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo , which make up the Terras do Infante association, affirm «the need to maintain a quality NHS, for all citizens, improving access to health care and fighting back against all disguised attempts to dismantle it».
They also demand “from the Government of the Republic, which, in line with what it transmits in the media, proceeds to improve the conditions of care for pregnant women in the Health Centers and Hospitals of the Region, including the reinforcement of human resources in the Hospital's maternity hospital. from the Western Algarve».
They also demand from the government that "at such an important moment in the lives of women, which is the birth of a child, they should be guaranteed all Hospital Support in proximity, worthy of a fair and modern country."
The motion underscores that «the current situation, of instability in relation to prenatal care in the Algarve and in particular in Barlavento, clearly demonstrates the failure of the policy of merging hospital units – creation of the Algarve Hospital Center, promoted by the current Government».
For Terras do Infante, «it is now evident that the arguments of more rationality and sharing of resources, used at the time to convince professionals, mayors and the population, failed blatantly, and today, in 2014, the quality of care and access to basic and specialized care is more difficult and time-consuming for the citizens of Barlavento».
"We are worse off", stresses the association of municipalities, adding that "as if that were not enough, they still want to close the maternity hospital, helping to drive away the young couples who chose this area of the Algarve to work and raise a family".
«What use are all the speeches by government officials about the urgency of launching measures to combat the fall in the birth rate in Portugal? These are empty words that offend the intelligence of citizens…», he considers.
The association Terras do Infante adds that «the latest figures published by the Ministry of Health, refer that 2011 births took place in the Algarve in 4329,. Of these, around 1300 took place at the Hospital do Barlavento Algarvio, although the hospital's maternity hospital had carried out more than 1600 births/year and with a number of professionals comparable to the current one just a few years ago».
“It is also known that the lack of doctors specialized in pediatrics and obstetrics has always been a reality in the region and especially in Barlavento (as well as in other specialties), but this should not lead the Region's health authorities to close services, as it has happened. The lack of working conditions, basic equipment and a demotivating environment in services, has led some specialized professionals to abandon public services, further aggravating the situation of NHS hospitals», stresses the association.
In contrast, according to Terras do Infante, «the consequence of this policy is the improvement of private health services (which flourish in the Algarve, with more valences) and the degradation of the functioning and responsiveness of the NHS public services. In this way, the majority of citizens are worse off and those (few) who have the economic power to support the costs of private medicine are better».
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