Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon
A new case with a doctor who was paid for surgeries by internal doctors led Paulo Filipe to be dismissed from the direction of the Santa Maria Dermatology Unit.
The director of the dermatology unit of the Santa Maria Hospital, Paulo Filipe, presented his resignation After being confronted with the preliminary results of an internal audit that revealed serious irregularities in the service.
This decision arises following the journalistic investigation of TVI/, which exposed abusive practices Related to additional surgeries performed at the weekend, originally intended to reduce waiting lists.
Additional surgeries have become a means for dermatology service doctors to obtain large remuneration. The most serious case involves doctor Miguel Alpalhão, responsible for coding the service, who will have Accumulated about 400 thousand euros on just 10 Saturdayseven earning 50 thousand euros in a single day.
Alpalhão operated his own parents and claimed, in an interview with Expresso, that he followed all the rules. However, internal investigations point to a Redeems and internal authorizations that sustained this model of action.
More recently, TVI reported another case in the same hospital, this time with the doctor Rita Travassos, which registered surgeries performed by internal doctors As if they were their own, despite being in a congress in Italy at the time of interventions. Only in 2024, this doctor will have Received 113 thousand euros for seven Saturdays at work.
Several doctors at the hospital, under anonymity, denounce a “Anarchy” situation in the servicereferring lack of supervision in the emergency and overload of internal doctors, often alone in the face of complex clinical cases. The same professionals classify as “obscene” the amounts paid by surgeries, taking into account the simplicity of many of the procedures performed, such as mere signal removals that take less than 30 minutes.
The administration of Santa Maria Hospital has already confirmed that Paulo Filipe, also president of the Portuguese Society of Dermatology, was confronted with the conclusions of the audit and immediately made the position available. The chairman of the Board of Directors, Carlos Martins, accepted the resignation and prepares to appoint an interim director.
From the disclosure of the case of Alpalhão, on 21 May, several measures were triggered, including the Suspension of additional surgeries Over the weekend, sending the case to the General Inspection of Health Activities (IGAS), and the conduct of internal audits.
The extraordinary audit report for additional production confirmed “several serious irregularities”, having been fundamental for the service director to fall. Paulo Filipe, who also accumulated functions at the Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutic Commission.
