PSD deputies, elected by the Algarve, want patients from the Algarve to no longer have to go to Spain for radiosurgery treatments, demanding that the Hospital and University Center of the Algarve (CHUA) cancel the international tender, won by a clinic in Seville.
At the request of the PSD, the CHUA representatives were in Parliament, but, according to the Social Democrats, "they chose not to clarify the details of the competition that is pushing dozens of people from the Algarve every day to Spain".
«The price factor can never be, and in particular when we are talking about health, the main criterion of a public tender. Why were weighting criteria not included for the distance between the provider and hospitals in Faro and Portimao? Why was assistance in Portuguese not taken into account in this competition? CHUA's Board of Directors has yet to respond to these questions. This clearly demonstrates that what matters most is solely and exclusively the lowest price. This type of policy, which has destroyed our SNS, does not serve the interests of users in the region. And this CHUA option definitely does not serve the interests of users», says deputy Rui Cristina.
This radiosurgery treatment only involves «displacement of the patient», as explained in October by Horácio Guerreiro, clinical director.
At the time, in statements to the Sul Informação, this official stressed that «there was a competition, Spain won, legally, and we have to comply with the conditions of that competition».
The argument does not reap acceptance of the PSD. For Rui Cristina, «it is inhumane to subject patients, who are already fragile, to a transport of hundreds of kilometers, without the accompaniment of a health technician and being attended by professionals who do not speak Portuguese».
Comments