The creation of a National Seroteca, where small samples of serum from those who donate blood will be kept, the transfer of the National Bank of Cells of the Umbilical Cord, from Porto to the Algarve, or the creation of a Center for the Promotion of Health Care for Tourism . These will be just some of the functions of the ABC Loulé Health Research Center and the Center Active Life, centers linked to health, innovation, research and training that will be created in 2021, in Loulé and Vilamoura.
The project was presented this Saturday, May 4th, as part of the ceremony of 10 years of the Integrated Masters in Medicine at the University of Algarve (UAlg), at the Cine-Teatro Louletano, but the first steps had already been taken in 2018.
In May of last year, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Municipality of Loulé and the Academic Center for Research and Biomedical Training of the Algarve – ABC (Algarve Biomedical Center), which brings together the University of Algarve and the University Hospital Center of the Algarve.
In practice, this project, which represents an investment of 16 million euros, foresees the construction of two buildings: the ABC Loulé Health Research Center, in the county seat, with 3500 square meters, and the ABC Active Life, in Vilamoura (4000 square meters).
On the other hand, the project also aims to decentralize services from national institutions in the health area, such as the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge and Infarmed, to the Algarve. In other words: what will be transferred are only some of the institutions' services and not their headquarters.
«These will be research and development poles, in order to provide the best health care to the population of the Algarve and beyond. Here we will have several national projects, hence the greater scope of the project, which implies the decentralization of services to the region», explained Nuno Marques, president of the ABC, to the Sul Informação, on the sidelines of the session.
Starting with the Loulé building. From Porto, the Public Bank of Cells of the Umbilical Cord will come, but this will not only be the large-scale valence to be installed there. The Seroteca Nacional will also have the city of Loulé as its headquarters, as well as the Center for Studies on the Safety of Medicines and Medical Devices.
The latter will carry out "active surveillance of drugs that may be of greater risk, in partnership with Infarmed," said Nuno Marques.
In this context, it will also be developed from the ABC Loulé Health Research Center, a Drug Interaction System.
"It's a huge project that will allow every doctor, when he writes a prescription, to immediately have access to interactions between medications, increasing the safety of patients themselves," Nuno Marques told our newspaper.
As for the Entomological Research Center of the Algarve, also to be installed in Loulé, it will study «diseases transmitted by mosquitoes».
“We had the examples of dengue or malaria itself. In this Centre, in partnership with the Ricardo Jorge Institute, we are going to carry out research and training, catching and collecting mosquitoes to see if they are infected or not», he explained.
The Algarve, as «the hottest region in the country», is where, most expectably, «can arise these diseases», according to Nuno Marques. In the case of malaria, resurface.
However, still in the Loulé building, the Biobanco do ABC will be created, which will enable innovative investigations, the Pharmacovigilance Unit of the Algarve and Alentejo, a pole of the National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation and a Center for Clinical Research of the ABC.
But… it's still not all. "We will also have an Experimental Surgery Center, which will lead to the development of training courses here for those who are learning or for those who are already in medical practice, but want to develop new techniques," said the president of ABC to Sul Informação.
Finally, in the building in Loulé, a Health Literacy and Informatics Center will be created, an essential issue for Nuno Marques, who is a doctor by profession.
«Today there are more and more applications that make life easier, but people do not know how to use them because there is no one to teach them. The idea is there: teaching, first in the Algarve, but in a project to be extended to the rest of the country», he explained.
As for the Vilamoura hub, it will be more focused on healthcare and tourism. Therefore, the Center will be created Active Life, “promoting active life”.
“It won't be that health care we sometimes hear about, where people come here because the hospital is cheaper, they have surgery and leave. This will be a Center where people will be able to carry out their osteoarticular rehabilitation, helping them to move, but also taking advantage of the free spaces and the good weather we have in the Algarve», explained Nuno Marques.
“For example, a family from Northern European countries can come here, during the holidays, and in that time, they know that their relative is receiving the best possible care”, said the official.
This will be a public offer, not a private one, with another feature: the connection with the hotel industry.
“We won't have people sleeping here, but in hotels. We are promoting health tourism and the regional economy itself, creating something differentiating that will make this destination more and more attractive. Hence also the choice of Vilamoura», he exemplified.
The Certified Health Care Center for Tourism will also function in this building.
“We thought there was a flaw here. Tourists don't know, if anything happens to them, where to go. What we are going to provide is information, either through a website or leaflets, from the health services themselves, which are duly certified by the competent authorities», he explained.
Finally, the ABC Active Life it will incorporate a meeting centre, the headquarters of the LIFE – Algarve Coração Seguro project, with automatic defibrillation, the Loulé Tourism Agency and the Training and Simulation Center for the Donation and Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells.
This entire project is bold and far-reaching, bringing true innovation to the Algarve, compared to what is currently there.
"We realized the importance for the regional and economic development of the region, as well as for the establishment of health professionals", considered Nuno Marques.
The estimate involves the direct creation of 150 highly differentiated and qualified jobs.
The works on the buildings have not yet started, and, at this moment, «the architectural projects are being carried out». "We hope to start next year to open doors in 2021," the ABC president told our newspaper.
For Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, this is a «project in favor of scientific research, with the aim of solving gaps in the region, related to research and health care for those who live here, but also for thousands of tourists ».
Therefore, «Loulé has shown itself, from the beginning, proactive and interested in the development of this project that will lead to the creation of conditions that, I believe, will boost courses for professionals across the country», said the mayor.
«We saw here a great opportunity to diversify our economic base and make an important contribution to the affirmation of the Algarve in a territorial competition, between various dynamic areas of the country. I also believe that this project will contribute to a greater attractiveness for young doctors and researchers», he considered.
But for this attraction, in the opinion of Paulo Águas, dean of UAlg, there is a work that has to advance: the Hospital Central do Algarve.
«The absence of a Hospital with true university skills, whether for medicine or for other areas of health, has hampered the development of medical education in the region. The Central Hospital is essential for attracting and retaining doctors in the region, for the development of the medical course, for the improvement of health care and for territorial cohesion», he said, in an intervention that drew countless applause from the audience.
In the audience, Manuel Heitor, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, listened to the messages left by the leader of the Algarve academy, acknowledging, in his speech, that the Algarve's doctors have been working «not always in the best infrastructural conditions».
As for the ABC project, the government official said that the «Academic Clinical Center's ambition to open new areas in Loulé clearly shows the relevance and presence of what can be an adequate articulation between the activities of education, research and innovation, in a municipal context that favors and facilitates the establishment of these links'.
Raquel Duarte, Secretary of State for Health, was also present at this ceremony, considering that «this project is structuring and will have a great impact on regional and national development in the area of innovation, research, training and the improvement of healthcare».
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