Louis Albuquerque
The Mayor of Ourem criticized the decentralization of health competences to the municipalities, taking advantage of the presence of the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Isabel Ferreira, on Municipal Day, which was celebrated on June 20. Social Democrat Louis Albuquerque considers the way decentralization is being proposed represents losses for local authorities and causes restrictions on users.
Louis Albuquerque expressed his “concern about some situations that drag on without clear solutions, but with obvious harm.” He added, “While everything in social work and education was running smoothly, as a result of the great interdependence that existed, though the balance in education was very negative financially for the municipality, as a result of what I call proximity costs, in terms of health, the process, let me say, Chaotic,” he lamented. The mayor also lamented “the problem of the shortage of professionals in the sector, which still deprives the majority of Orem residents of a family doctor,” noting that there are currently more than 13,000 users in this situation.
