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“The NHS and its professionals, with great disinterest and resilience, gave a good response to Covid patients, but the guardianship does not seem to have learned the lesson of recent months,” says the document that RTP had access to and signed by Miguel . Guimarães, José Manuel Silva, Germano de Sousa, Gentil Martins, Carlos Ribeiro and Pedro Nunes.
“We are already in the second week of October, in the middle of autumn, and what happened, what has changed substantially in the organization of people and media? Where is the necessary and indispensable plan – discussed, altered and duly approved – for the difficult days and months we face? ”, They question.
Among the criticisms of a DGS plan “insufficient and incomplete” in operationalization to respond to covid and non-covid patients, the presidents warn.
“Madam. Minister of Health: we are concerned and it is our turn to make this public alert. It is vital that there be an immediate change of direction in the SNS strategy. The SNS is once again exposed to a serious disturbance in its functioning, in a moment in which it has not even been able to begin to recover from the very strong shock suffered in recent months ”, they refer.
One of the signatories of this letter, José Manuel Silva, argued to Antena 1 that the medical community is concerned about a possible breakdown in hospital services.
An added concern if we consider that the response capacity of some hospitals is already close to the limit when the flu season has not yet started.
In addition to José Manuel Silva, Pedro Nunes, Germano de Sousa, Carlos Ribeiro, António Gentil Martins and Miguel Guimarães, current president, are the signatories of this open letter sent to the Government.
SNS only. “There is no greater tragedy than this”
“What moves us in this open letter, Madam Minister of Health, is the anguish of those who know patients by name and know that the NHS, as it stands, alone cannot help them all. There is no greater tragedy than this ”, defend the presidents.
They consider that technical and human resources are insufficient and that the NHS cannot be left on the shoulders of doctors and other health professionals.
“We need to change now. A large investment is necessary to strongly strengthen the SNS ”, they defend, to say that“ There is no time to lose, Miss Minister ”, referring to a global response that involves“ the private social and health sectors may be more involved in the covid and non-covid effort so that installed capacity is used efficiently rather than wasted ”.
They speak of a lack of strategy and a current context that “directly and indirectly threatens the health of the Portuguese.”
Therefore, they require a response that responds to the need for access to all medical care with an unequivocal response to all patients (covid, non-covid and seasonal flu) and, through an extended exceptional program, recover waiting lists . and potential “lost” patients, as they call them.
Former President Germano de Sousa, believes that it is necessary “to go quickly to practice”, applying concrete measures that make monitoring patients who are covid and not covid “with the same speed.”
The former head of the Ordem dos Médicos recalls that the pandemic situation “came early, contrary to what was thought.”
“It is time to strengthen the response capacity of public health, primary health care, occupational health, hospital medicine, and strengthen access to health in the most disadvantaged areas,” they defend, calling for a bet on video consultation . and nursing home care.
“It is time for the SNS to unite the Portuguese. We cannot let anyone be left behind ”, they warn.
Presidents are looking back to make amends for what happened in the first phase of the pandemic. The letter speaks of the effort of clinical teams, “beyond physical and mental limits”, of “severe arrest of an important part of non-covid health.”
“This sudden stop, potentially fatal for the economy and which, at the same time, triggered the waiting lists, created an artificial shield that we cannot risk repeating. In this second phase of the pandemic, the SNS will suffer all the pressure of demand without this protection, which threatens to have dramatic consequences for patients in the face of a SNS without measuring hands ”, they warn.
“The numbers do not need adjectives: in this Covid-19 period, there were 100,000 delayed surgeries in the NHS, to which are added one million consultations in hospitals, thousands of screenings that remained to be done, that is, in oncology, 17 million of means and diagnostic and therapy tests, 5 million face-to-face consultations in primary health care. The number of deaths not related to Covid soared, with 7144 more deaths between March and September than the average for the same months in the last five years, ”the document says.
Immediate consequences, in addition to the medium term. “Given that strokes that have not been treated in a timely manner, including the worsening of diseases such as diabetes or oncological conditions, as is known, the consequences will unfortunately be more overwhelming in the medium term. The non-timely diagnosis and the prolonged non-treatment, as is happening, reduce the hope and quality of life of patients, patients who, in many cases, ignore it until they are “.
“The serious problems of the pre-covid SNS already demanded a muscular and continuous action plan, which was slow in coming; the current context has become even more complex and demanding, brutally delaying the fight and treatment of the most diverse pathologies. Therefore, the coming weeks and months will require a much greater response capacity than that which exists today in the SNS ”.
On the contrary, the presidents praise the attitude of the Portuguese. “Most people are informed about the symptoms to be taken seriously and how to behave, although doubts persist when symptoms arise. The almost widespread use of masks confirms that we are aware that our individual behavior is essential to avoid and reduce infections. Our community has adapted and learned to live with this virus. And the majority of the Portuguese are adapting in various fields, revealing a civic culture that makes us proud and strengthens ”.
