The leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL), Rui Rocha, questioned today why the president of INEM and the Secretary of State for Health Management remain in their positions.
Criticism Of The Minister Of Health
Speaking in Braga during a debate at the School of Medicine at the University of Minho, Rui Rocha described the Minister of Health as a question mark. He explained that ongoing investigations, audits, and inquiries will ultimately determine the future of Ana Paula Martins.
He said:
We do not understand what the current director of INEM is still doing and what the Secretary of State for Health Management is doing.
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Rui Rocha said that the minister overruled the Secretary of State and revoked her oversight of INEM. He also emphasized that the president of INEM should step down, citing serious negligence in handling recent events.
Concerns Over INEM’s Leadership
He said that:
The data is sufficient to understand that they cannot continue in office. It is, in fact, incomprehensible how we have been in this situation for almost two weeks now and all that has happened on the part of the Prime Minister is to avoid responding and giving explanations. It seems to us that the situation is getting worse with each passing day. I believe that a signal should be given to reorganize the teams, starting with the Secretary of State and the director of INEM.
Regarding the minister, he argued that we should wait and see. He added that:
It’s a question mark. We want more data, we want to know the results of the surveys.
Disputing Privatization Claims
Regarding the alleged intention to privatize INEM, Rui Rocha mentioned that:
It is a ghost that the left is creating, but that makes no sense.
He argued that, there is no need. For the IL leader, the first thing to do is to stop the bad practice of diverting resources from INEM to other areas. He emphasized that the institute should receive the resources it deserves and be able to build its structure based on them.
He concluded that:
Then, we really need to have competent people, we need to have people who are in their roles not because of party membership, not because of ideological proximity, but because they are professionally competent people. This is true for INEM and it is true for public administration as a whole.
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Investigations Into INEM’s Failures
The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has launched seven investigations into deaths potentially linked to failures in INEM’s rescue operations.
Along with the investigations initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), failures in INEM’s assistance, including delays in responding to calls, have prompted the General Inspectorate of Health Activities (IGAS) to launch its own investigation.
The delays in responding to emergency calls worsened during a week-long overtime strike by Pre-Hospital Emergency Technicians (TEPH), which coincided with the public sector strike on 4th November.
The TEPH strike was suspended following the signing of a negotiation protocol between the Government and the sector’s union.
