January 23, 2023 - Published 430 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes ago
Clélio Meneses highlights importance of Regional Health Council
location Angra do Heroísmo

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Desporto

The Regional Health Council, chaired by the Regional Secretary for Health and Sport, is meeting today in Angra do Heroísmo.

At the opening of the meeting, Clélio Meneses stressed the importance of the meeting, "which aims to share and receive contributions for the new Regional Health Plan."

"This will be a structuring document for the decade and, in this context, we have already collected 28 contributions. This demonstrates the commitment of society, whether organised or not, to present contributions," he said.

The Regional Health Council, which has been suspended in recent years, is made up of representatives from various sectors of Azorean society, whether or not linked to health. The government official called on them to consider the "structural reorganisation with strategic thinking" that the Regional Government intends to carry out.

"Among the 43 indicators set out in the previous Regional Health Plan, only 12 have been met," Clélio Meneses said, adding that "it is essential to identify problems before moving on to the measures, and the problems are structural."

At this meeting, the Coordinator of the new Regional Health Plan, João Sarmento, presented the current situation of the Regional Health Service, with the Regional Secretary for Health and Sport reiterating "the need to solve structural problems."

The financing of the sector, identified as a major issue, was one of the topics launched by the government official for consideration by the members of the Council. 

"To what extent is this system, free and universal, financially sustainable for the State? I launch this challenge for reflection," he said.

The rising costs of Health, the insufficiency of resources, the establishment of professionals, the ageing population, as well as the need to recover infrastructures and equipment, are other matters under discussion at the meeting of the Regional Health Council.

The Regional Secretary also highlighted the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which allocates 30 million Euros to Health in the Azores, including 8.3 million Euros for equipment. "We have to leverage this to its full potential, so as to modernise services and invest in the digitisation of Health," reiterated the government official.

In turn, Clélio Meneses also insisted on "the need for an agreement in Health," defending that "the sector cannot be constrained by political, partisan or ideological interests. A broad commitment is necessary for us to achieve good results."

The Regional Secretary for Health also praised the good performance of the Regional Health Service in 2022, considering that it "is good and works efficiently."

"The Regional Health Service performed 10 thousand surgeries in one year, a million consultations and millions of exams, having also carried out around 400 evacuations. However, I have not seen anyone making news out of this," Clélio Meneses said, considering that "good news reassures the population and this is about health literacy."

© Governo dos Açores | Fotos: SRSD

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