The pandemic that has engulfed our lives has made all our attention turn to COVID-19 and, of course, to health issues and all actions related to fighting the disease.
The truth is that other diseases have not ceased to exist, such as problems in the Regional Health System (SRS). Difficulties with scheduling appointments, diagnostic tests and being able to undergo surgery continue, and we don’t know how and when the problems on the waiting lists will be resolved.
The Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t explain everything. In particular, it does not explain why the problem that was perennial in this and the previous government has not been resolved.
It does not explain why this government is hiding a problem from everyone, and when it should strive to solve it once and for all. The pandemic brought exceptional cases and additional entropy, but given the latest reports, it’s no excuse for everything.
Reality and facts paint a picture of our SRS so different from what the regional government is proclaiming, that it even appears to be living in a fantasy.
The outcome of poor health management is shown to all with a black table of delays in all indications, particularly consultations and complementary diagnostic and therapeutic exams. We are in the process of SRS bankruptcy.
How can 117,691 waiting list medical procedures be performed on December 31, 2020?
I want to remind you that, according to known data, in Madeira there are:
31119 Filming work is on the waiting list. 22,094 exams are on the waiting list; 19,794 surgeries are on the waiting list. In consultations, the waiting list increased by another 14% between 2019 and 2020, from 39,191 to 44,684 waiting list consultations. The waiting list includes 8,377 ophthalmology consultations. There are thousands of people waiting. Thousands of people whose health could be seriously compromised by the government’s inability to solve a problem that has persisted for years, with no solution in sight.
How is that possible? And let’s not forget that the officials are the same. The same party, now with the CDS party continuing, that let the problem fester.
If the biggest problem in a critical area of ours doesn’t see a solution or even an improvement, what are they really doing?
To govern is to solve problems and push our region forward. It is not about hiding problems and acting on the basis of personal and partisan political interests.
The regional health minister and this government hide the truth, always respond in an evasive manner and prefer propaganda for a very simple reason: there is an inability to solve problems.
We’ve heard the regional health minister always responds with the same narrative that waiting lists are dynamic. Well, 117,691 medical procedures on a waiting list in a population of just over 250,000 people is not an example of a dynamic list. Since 2015, the “dynamic” waiting list has more than 100,000 pending medical records. This is evidence of the inability to solve the problem.
These numbers indicate something serious. That the SRS is heading into a negative and troubling spiral, which should put the regional government on high alert. We are committed to working with everyone to solve this problem. We are committed to transparency of numbers out of respect not only for the opposition but for citizens and health professionals who work and struggle every day in often not the best conditions. And thanks to our health professionals, these numbers certainly weren’t worse. The effects of these delays on people’s lives, particularly on those who do not have access to private health services, are enormous. Very serious effects on the deterioration of your health. Meanwhile, at the regional assembly, the PSD/CDS rejected our proposals to solve the problem, as happened last week. This government is so stuck, so compliant, so concerned about itself and the political future of the elements that compose it, when we must have a working government, committed to finding solutions for the people. For our health, we need to change.
