Álvaro Araújo, mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, defends «the urgent need to reinforce pre-hospital medical emergency means» in the municipality and in the eastern Algarve.
This reinforcement involves, according to the municipality, in the short term, the creation of a Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER) of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) headquartered in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA), which will make it possible to reinforce the capacity to respond to medical emergencies in the region.
«The tragic episode that occurred recently, on Lota beach, where a 58-year-old man died of cardiac arrest, while the nearest VMER was 45 minutes away, highlights the urgency of an effectively quick pre-hospital response in critical situations and the urgent need to establish a Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER) in the municipality», says the mayor .
The delay and the distance to the VMER resulted in the intervention of lifeguards and other bathers in providing assistance to the victim until the arrival of an ambulance with Immediate Life Support, which transported the man to the Basic Emergency Service of VRSA, where he was pronounced dead.
In a note sent to the newsrooms, the municipality says that it “understands the explanations provided by the official entities and believes that everything was done, depending on the means of response that were available at the time, to avoid this tragic outcome. But this situation has highlighted the imperative need to reinforce the Advanced Life Support (ALS) network, with robust medical intervention, in the eastern Algarve region and in the municipality itself».
“The responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of all who live, work and visit this site is indisputable. The effective availability of pre-hospital emergency medical care is a fundamental component of this responsibility», reiterates Álvaro Araújo.
The Chamber notes, in this regard, that the Mayor had already warned of this situation before the start of the bathing season, having even met with the President of the Board of Directors of INEM Luís Meira, and with the President of the Board of Directors of the Center University Hospital of the Algarve Ana Gomes. Within the scope of these meetings, the mayor proposed the permanent existence, in the municipality, of a VMER with a doctor, a nurse, medication and ALS equipment.
«The population needs this reinforcement of differentiated pre-hospital medical emergency means and the municipality of VRSA wants to be an active partner in this process», says Álvaro Araújo. In this sense, aware of the specificities of functioning of a highly differentiated environment such as a VMER – normally associated with a hospital emergency service – the mayor recalled that the Algarve was, in fact, a pioneer in the definition of solutions adapted to the regional reality and the health services, as was the case with the creation of VMER in Albufeira, operating in the Basic Emergency Service in that county.
«VRSA is committed to INEM and CHUA quickly putting the VMER of VRSA into operation, thus reinforcing the response in this region and also giving substance to cross-border cooperation projects that INEM itself and the Algarve have in progress», concludes the mayor .
«With the reinforcement of pre-hospital ALS means, not only will the capacity to respond to emergencies be strengthened, but the number of situations in which the doubt remains - despite the effort of the professionals involved from other levels of response – more differentiated teams could not have contributed to saving lives», defends the Chamber of VRSA.
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