Fans purchased by municipalities in the Algarve have technical problems

The 30 fans, purchased by AMAL – Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve, have “technical problems” and are not being used by hospitals in the region.

The situation was advanced by Correio da Manhã. According to this newspaper, «the equipment, which arrived in two tranches – first 20 fans and then the remaining ten – have technical failures, preventing their use for the time being».

At the press conference this Friday, July 17, to assess the pandemic, the minister of Health spoke about the matter.

“As far as I know, the fans were not purchased by the SNS. It was a donation and the generous donor is already dealing with the issues with the supplier», he said.

These equipments, which cost close to 2 million euros, paid by the municipalities, were purchased by AMAL, in partnership with the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) and delivered, on 26 May, to the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA) for be used in hospitals of Faro and Portimão.

Speaking to Público, António Pina, president of AMAL, said that the problem affects all fans, awaiting the final report from the Services for Common Use of Hospitals (SUCH).

In a response to this daily newspaper, the University Hospital Center of the Algarve said that, "in case there is any anomaly with the equipment, the report will be sent to the entity responsible for the donation so that it can articulate with the supplier".

António Pina, for his part, explained that "the equipment went through a battery of tests and one or two will not have reached the expected parameters".

The fans were "bought from a Chinese company and have certificates," he added. The president of the Chamber of Olhão also believes that the problem will be easy to solve.

As for Nuno Marques, president of the ABC, he admitted, in statements to Correio da Manhã, "ignoring" the difficulties of the fans.

What is certain is that, in the view of José Apolinário, secretary of state coordinating the response to the pandemic in the Algarve, the region does not have a «lack of fans».

To Público, Apolinário said that "some nonconformities were signaled" in this equipment purchased by AMAL, but the Government is "available to collaborate with AMAL".