Clarification from the Regional Secretariat for Health and Social Security - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

The two hyperbaric chambers currently operating in the Azores - one at Horta Hospital and the other at Ponta Delgada Hospital - were acquired in 2012, without any provision for their annual maintenance and certification.

Regarding the equipment at Horta Hospital, the hyperbaric chamber has been operating without annual maintenance and certification since 2016. The breakdown is irreversible and occurred in the DECOMAT system on January 26, 2024.

In turn, the certification and maintenance period for the equipment at Ponta Delgada Hospital has expired for over four years. The vital signs monitor malfunctioned on December 6, 2023, which required the equipment to be sent to Germany and reinstalled at the beginning of February. In mid-February, an alarm indicated a malfunction in a component that could not be repaired remotely, so the brand's representative in Portugal will be on site next week to assess the situation.

In the proposed Plan for 2024, the Regional Secretariat for Health and Social Security has included a new action "Hyperbaric Medicine," with a budget allocation of 541 thousand Euros, providing for 5-year maintenance contracts. This will ensure that preventive maintenance will be carried out in good time, safeguarding any corrective maintenance and, thus, minimising the risk of disrupting clinical activity.

It should be noted that the Plan and Budget proposals for 2024 were rejected, preventing the investment from being carried out.

While the events that led to the inoperability of the equipment occurred later, the Government immediately made several contacts by telephone and email demanding that the repairs be carried out as soon as possible. However, the company's programming is carried out every six months, which makes it impossible for technicians to come to the Region immediately.

Following the approval of the Programme of the Government and the subsequent discussion of the Plan and Budget soon, the Regional Government believes it will be able to honour the commitments planned for June to ensure that the Ponta Delgada and Horta hyperbaric chambers are duly certified.

Unlike what happened in the past, this new phase includes the maintenance and certification contract for the hyperbaric chambers to prevent the situation from recurring while ensuring the normal functioning of this equipment.