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Clélio Meneses highlights importance of Regional Health Council
Vacinação contra a covid-19 arrancou há dois anos nos Açores
Governo dos Açores reativa Plano de Prevenção e Controle da Infeção e da Resistência aos Antimicrobianos
Dear visitor,
Welcome to another space dedicated to health in the Region.
Health is a fundamental area nowadays. Physical well-being and mental well-being greatly contribute to the enrichment of the population at various levels. A healthy population contributes to a high level of self-esteem in the Region, leading to higher productivity and a healthier family environment.
However, health in the Azores Autonomous Region is not only about access to primary care through health care or access to differentiated care at hospitals. It also involves a health education area whose mission is to promote and disseminate measures towards the better use of health services by the population as well as to foster the participation of the community in the various health policy goals of the Region.
Therefore, the Regional Directorate for Health (DRS) is responsible for promoting this service as the operating system of the Regional Secretariat for Health (SReS) in the coordination, supervision, study and technical-normative support of the health sector.
In a digital era, it is the responsibility of the DRS to use all the technological means at its disposal to disseminate its services, making them available to the population in general. The use of this portal is, thus, justified as an effective means to achieve these goals.
The information provided in this area includes various types of support material for health users, whether institutional, generic or functional, all of which regarding regional health. From online forms to all kinds of news and events, this will be a dynamic area, so that users may find on these pages a point of interest for later consultation and useful information for occasional consultation.
Thank you.
January 23, 2023
Clélio Meneses highlights importance of Regional Health Council
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."
December 30, 2022
Vacinação contra a covid-19 arrancou há dois anos nos Açores
Assinala-se hoje o segundo aniversário do processo de vacinação contra a covid-19 nos Açores. O primeiro lote de vacinas (Pfizer) destinado ao arquipélago chegou à Terceira na noite de 30 de dezembro de 2020, seguindo parte desse lote para São Miguel no dia seguinte. As primeiras inoculações foram administradas na manhã de 31 de dezembro, na Terceira e em São Miguel. Na ilha Terceira as inoculações começaram no Lar de Idosos do Raminho, com o Vice-Presidente do Governo a assistir. Em São Miguel, o Secretário Regional da Saúde e Desporto esteve presente no início da vacinação, que teve lugar no Lar da Santa Casa da Misericórdia, em Vila Franca do Campo. Clélio Meneses recordou a efeméride, esta manhã, à margem de uma visita ao Serviço de Urgência do Hospital de Santo Espírito, e disse que o arranque do processo de vacinação, foi “conturbado, difícil, exigente e sem qualquer tipo de planeamento anterior”. Dois anos depois a soma das vacinas administradas ultrapassou as 602.000. Para o governante, este número significa “muito trabalho, de muitos profissionais de saúde, de enfermeiros de médicos, de assistentes e de técnicos operacionais”. “Um trabalho extraordinário tem sido desenvolvido, o que fez com que as pessoas conseguissem ultrapassar este problema da pandemia”, considerou o Secretário Regional. Clélio Meneses felicitou todos quantos durante dois anos “deram de si para que a pandemia tivesse o mínimo impacto possível na região, como realmente teve, apesar dos danos que também teve ao nível da saúde e de vidas, mas foram dois anos muito duros”. O governante lembra que o processo ainda decorre e que “neste momento acima dos 50 anos já é possível, por vontade própria, agendar a vacina”. "Paralelamente decorre a vacinação contra a gripe sazonal, em que já foram administradas também 25.000 doses de vacinas, só neste ano, registando-se uma diminuição da faixa etária à qual é administrada esta vacina, que passou dos 65 para os 60 anos, no sentido de também por essa via, protegermos a população”, acrescentou. Clélio Meneses garantiu que “não há qualquer tipo de aumento significativo de casos positivos nesta altura nos Açores”, e adiantou que à data de hoje “regista-se cerca de uma centena de pessoas infetadas, há já algumas semanas, não houve por isso qualquer crescimento é significativo que mereça atenção particular”.