António Gandra D’Almeida admitted to revisiting the plan of the previous executive management and trying to enhance the network of obstetrics and pediatrics emergency services in the Lisbon region. “A new commission has now been formed and things will change. My position is not fixed. We need to find a solution. If it means concentrating these emergency services and establishing one of the network points with a stronger emergency service, we will do so,” he said in his first interview since taking office in May.
The new executive director of the National Health Service (SNS), who replaced Fernando Araújo, assured that his team is working in “close proximity” with the administration boards and clinical directors to achieve “the best possible response.”
“So far, we haven’t had any pregnant woman who wasn’t attended to, no child who needed neonatology who wasn’t seen. And even in Lisbon, we haven’t had major disruptions or patients leaving their area,” he emphasized, regarding the closures of gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics emergency services.
When asked about the dialogue with the sector’s professional orders, doctors, and nurses, António Gandra D’Almeida assured that he speaks with everyone and urged all involved to state “what the different levels are and how the emergency teams function.”
“And it can stay exactly as it is. The technical part needs to clearly state how things will work. It won’t be the DE-SNS that will reduce or make changes without hearing from the competent parties. We shouldn’t work by trial and error. We should be consistent to have results, so we don’t keep facing limitations and problems year after year,” he stressed in the interview.
Gandra D’Almeida also revealed that the DE-SNS already has the winter plan ready and “about to be released,” with the aim of executing a “mass vaccination” that he considers fundamental and will be extended to nursing homes.
“All health units must have their plan. We’ve made the guiding norms that should be included, and then we’ll verify. And function very much as a network and try to prevent what we already know today will be very tough,” he emphasized.
The executive director of the SNS explained that he intends to give “a stronger response,” with vaccination being extended to nursing homes, in addition to health centers and pharmacies.