Civil Protection opened a case against the reinforcement of ambulances from the Firefighters League, considering it illegal. In response, the League rejected illegality and criticized Civil Protection.
On Friday, the Firefighters League Portuguese (LBP) announced the creation of a task-force of four ambulances firefighters from Ajuda, Cabo Ruivo, Camarate and Cascais for pre-hospital assistance during this weekend.
However, this Sunday, the Civil Protection made it known that it will open an investigation process into the task-forceconsidering the operation illegal and having been “marginally created”.
In a response sent to Lusa, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) states that it will open an investigation process, which will “take into account several factors, namely the fact that the marginally created operation is under the command of a member of the honor roll, which is legally not permitted”.
Civil Protection considers that the reinforcement of ambulances created by the LBP “seems violate the principles and assumptions of the system integrated protection and relief, as well as ANEPC’s competencies”, highlighting that it appears “like a parallel system, without any legal framework”.
ANEPC states that they learned about this reinforcement of ambulances through social media and that they do not know the basis for its creation nor its organization.
Civil Protection clarified to Lusa that the occurrences recorded within the scope of this reinforcement cannot be triggered or coordinated by the national command or the sub-regional command of Greater Lisbon.
The reinforcement of LBP ambulances comes after, in recent days, three people died due to alleged delays in aid, lack of ambulances or because they were held back due to the use of their stretchers in hospitals.
Firefighters criticize Civil Protection
The president of the LBP rejected that the task-force is “illegal” and regretted the Civil Protection statements.
Speaking to Lusa, António Nunes he said that he regretted “that statements are made without sitting down at the table and talking” with the League, to “find out what is going on”, adding that “if at the end of this there are doubts and there has been a situation that deserves to be clarified or investigated in a formal process, do so”, that “there is no problem”.
Considering that the situation is “not reasonable”the president of the LBP said that “it seems to be saying that a movement of commanders – who do it every day, but who decided to come together to save lives – is now being marginalized”.
“These are words that don’t look good, it seems to me, in a system that seeks to save lives. What we have to be aware of is that last week was dramatic”, he highlighted.
LBP justifies the creation of task-force
António Nunes explained that the movement to create the task-force started from a “set of concerned commanders, concerned volunteer firefighterswho on Friday asked whether a group of ambulances should not be set up” during the weekend, taking into account the current situation.
LBP, he explained, opened its doors to the operation, which already has eight ambulances, compared to the four initially planned, functioning as space for these ambulances.
“The operation is as illegal, as illegal, as every day. The only change that has occurred in relation to day to day life is that these ambulances, which are at the various fire stations, this Saturday and Sunday, from eight in the morning to eight at night, have gathered in one place. That’s the only change,” he said.
“But more, if it were so illegal, INEM yesterday [sábado] I hadn’t called seven ambulances seven times,” he highlighted.
ANEPC questions the usefulness in task-force
On Friday, LBP announced the creation, for this weekend, of a task-force four ambulances from the Ajuda, Cabo Ruivo, Camarate and Cascais fire departments for pre-hospital assistance.
According to the League, these emergency vehicles are based at the LBP headquarters, to operate as additional ambulances, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, with a permanent commander coordinating operations at the LBP Operational Situation Monitoring and Support Center.
However, according to ANEPC, “the present device, from what is known from social networks, concentrates ambulances in the same intervention area (Greater Lisbon), not realizing the added value of this measuresince the means in question should already be made available in normal situations”.
ANEPC explains that last weekend, INEM’s Urgent Patient Guidance Center (CODU) requested Civil Protection’s collaboration to reinforce the Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIEM) device, which was done “immediately”, but, after that, “nothing further was requested”.
Civil Protection also indicates that the SIEM is a responsibility of INEMbut in normal situations it is common for corporations and firefighters to have ambulances available in addition to those that affect the SIEM, which can be mobilized by sub-regional commands at the request of CODU.
