Parliament has rejected a move to unravel the discredited Algarve Central Hospitals management group.
The Communists smell a rat and believe that the former coalition parties which voted against the move reveal "an intention to proceed with mergers to concentrate public hospitals with the aim of reducing the ability to provide State health care and in this way benefit large private groups operating in the sector."
The Socialists too, voted against changing the hospital management structure despite backing the Communists on previous attempts. In July 2013 and June 2014, the Socialists voted in favour of draft resolutions that sought the unwinding of the group led at the time by Dr Pedro Nunes who since has been replaced, amid local rejoicing.
"Such inconsistent and contradictory attitudes of the Socialist Party causes deep concern and marks a change of position in relation to mergers and concentration in the public hospitals sector. To vote against this initiative, the Socialist Party now is responsible for all the negative consequences resulting from keeping the Algarve Central Hospitals group," said the miffed Communists.
For Catarina Martins’ Left Bloc, " the position of the right-wing parties is not surprising because it was their government that created the Algarve Central Hospitals group in 2013 with the merger of the hospitals in Faro, Portimão and Lagos, the consequence of which was a very serious deterioration in the National Health Service in the Algarve."
The Left Bloc considered it "incomprehensible" and "very regrettable" that "Socialist Party, now in government, continues to keep on with a wrong model of hospital management for the region. It is hoped that the government will not behave in the same way as the PSD, CDS/PP coalition has in the very recent past. "
Members of the Left Block admit that "there already have been some positive steps by this government to sort out immediately some of the serious constraints affecting health care in the Algarve Central Hospitals group," but consider that these are "not enough."
"It is urgent to strengthen and improve the number of beds and hospital services in the region, providing hospitals with new doctors, nurses and other health professionals. If the deterioration of public health services in the region persists, the responsibility from now on will lie with the Socialist Party," say the Left Bloc.
