The current state of SESARAM queues is getting worse. According to the latest data released, there are more than 118,412 medical procedures, including more than 20,000 surgical procedures, 29,000 imaging tests, 24,000 complementary methods of diagnosis and treatment and 44,000 specialist consultations.
In order to draw some conclusions from these figures, it is necessary, of course, to consider the evolution of the situation over the past few years, and it is precisely from this analysis that more alarming data emerge. The total number of medical procedures on the waiting list is practically double what it was in 2015 (63,635) when the first regional government led by Miguel Albuquerque took office. If we look at the past few years, corresponding to this latest chapter from Miguel Albuquerque, we see that waiting lists have continued to grow, from 108,800 in 2019 to 118,412 in 2021. There are another 10,000 medical jobs on the waiting list in just two years.
This recent rise in the epidemic would have been justified, had it not been for the master. The Regional Secretary of Health has stated more than once in the Legislative Assembly in Madeira, over the past two years, that the epidemic has not caused any delays or exacerbated the situation of waiting lists, which is now denied by official figures.
This deterioration is even more worrisome if we take into account other factors, such as the decrease in activity due to Covid-19 and the consequent less indication of new cases, but above all the fact that there has been a “cleanup” of the lists. In May 2019, the Regional Secretary of Health said that the waiting lists in Madeira were huge and that he was “crossing the data to make the situation more transparent and for the numbers to become more realistic”. Now, if this “cleanup” occurs, the current numbers on waiting lists are even more dire, as it means that the increase in pending medical procedures has been even higher.
Given this entire scenario, and particularly in light of data from the regional government, SESARAM, through its clinical director, is calling for three years to recover from the pandemic. The pandemic, according to the regional government, has not affected the state of waiting lists, as we heard a lot in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira during discussions on the state of the pandemic.
Faced with this data, the Regional Secretary of Health revealed that he would be more concerned if the failures were related to emergencies. But is SESARAM only there to handle urgent cases, allowing others to pile into queues? Haven’t urgent cases always been treated with the same priority and importance as they are today? The only new data in this equation is the backlog of medical procedures on the waiting list.
Queues are a very serious issue, affecting thousands of Madeira residents, to be seen in this way. And I’m talking about waiting lists, where I can talk just as much about the situation in the emergency room or the big problems. The health of Madeira residents cannot be permanently on hold.
Never before has so much money been invested or spent on health in ARMS, and the district government is constantly repeating. We have undoubtedly excellent health professionals who are tireless in their daily work. However, we are witnessing an accumulation of situations without a clear solution to reduce them, which only indicates the mismanagement of public resources and the need for accountability of the regional government. With so much investment, shouldn’t SESARAM achieve its first and main goal: treating patients in time?
