António Cotrim / LUSA
The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins
SNS will be subject to “very great pressure”, warns Ana Paula Martins. Demand for flu vaccines has also been “very high”.
The Minister of Health admitted this Monday that the National Health Service (SNS) will be subject to “a very big pressure” because of a new strain of flu and warned that the winter “is going to be very tough”.
“We have very, very high vaccination coverage rates and we will continue to insist, to insist, to insist, because, as all the competent entities in Europe have said, this is a year where, above all, the “, said Ana Paula Martins, at Guarda.
The minister said that hospitals are prepared with winter plans and contingency plans, at various levels, but admitted that “the pressure will be very great”.
“The winter will be very hard. And we, in addition to these plans, also have the medical emergency with reinforced plans to be able to support hospitals because the pre-hospital medical emergency is also of decisive importance in these times of greater pressure”.
Ana Paula Martins added that during this period “the usual seasonal devices were increased with more means to be activated”. Furthermore, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) is also “trying to reinforce resources, as happens in these phases, especially in areas such as the interior”.
As for the vaccination campaign, the minister considered that the SNS has “a mass vaccination” and that the demand for flu vaccines has been “very high, especially in health centers, homes and the national long-term care network”.
The minister did not talk about pharmacies, where thousands of doses went to waste: the Portuguese.
“Through the General Directorate of Health [DGS]we have already made several appeals to continue vaccinating those people who are indicated for it. It’s the way we have to minimize emergency room visits for those most at risk, as well as mortality,” he said.
The Ministry of Health is contacting the ULS to prepare the SNS for the winter period and to know “in detail the response of health units to the increased challenges that occur at this time of year, particularly with regard to the response to seasonal diseases, the management of emergencies and the coordination between the different levels of care”.
In addition to visits to emergency services, the Minister of Health meets with boards of directors and health professionals. During the visits, “concrete measures to reinforce human and material resources will also be discussed, as well as articulation strategies between primary, hospital and continued care, to guarantee an integrated and efficient response to the needs of the population”.
On these visits, the executive director of the SNS, Álvaro Almeida, accompanies Ana Paula Martins, with the exception of ULS da Guarda. On Tuesday, the holder of the Health portfolio will be at ULS in Alto Alentejo.
