Filipe Amorim / Lusa
The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, speaks before the Health Commission this Wednesday
Minister of Health explains in Parliament how the “refoundation” of INEM will work. He does not admit a collapse, but speaks of “chaos” on November 4th, when almost half of the calls remained unanswered.
“This Government will not privatize the Urgent Patient Guidance Center” (CODU), says the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martinsheard this Wednesday in Parliament, cited by .
INEM will then, from now on, be reclassified as a special regime public institute, with a board of directors with one additional member (it has two), and a president.
The minister wants, according to , to “profoundly change the functioning” of INEM, and therefore will use Artificial Intelligence in CODU. “CODU has many deficiencies and very little modern equipment”, he said, and that is why they will arrive “within a few weeks”. “If this is not refounding INEM, I ask what is“, launches the minister.
Público said this Wednesday that on the worst day of strikes at INEM, on November 4th, 2300 calls remained unanswered, that is, almost half of the 4815 calls received that day. It was the lowest number of calls to be answered by the service in the last 10 years.
According to , the minister has already admitted that “on November 4 there was chaos at INEM“, but further states that “collapse no“.
The minister also explained, quoted in the same article, that INEM ensures less than 10% of the activitywith the rest being passed on to the firefighters, the Red Cross and the helicopters: “We outsource 93% of INEM’s activity”, said Ana Paula Martins.
The minister now opens up the possibility of having multi-year partnerships with firefighters and the Red Cross, which may include program-contracts.
Another measure announced is the use, from now on, of automatic external defibrillators (DAE). “The AED usage model is very restricted and we should start a process of liberalizing the use of external fibrillation devices, with the extension of the obligation to citizens and mandatory training for 12th year students”, says the minister.
Regarding the fact that it has, the minister said that “for now, as far as I know, it is up to the Government and each minister to decide what he understands that his team can or cannot, should or should not do”.
“In this specific case”, he continued, “I understood that INEM, particularly due to the very serious situation we were experiencing, should depend on the superintendence of the ministerwhich is why we decided, in conversation with my Secretary of State, that it would be transferred to my superintendence”.
“As long as you hold this portfolio, I will organize my ministry as I see fit, before the law“, said Ana Paula Martins.
