Thus spake the parliamentary group of the PCP through its elected Algarve MP Paulo Sá.
Petition no.º 335/XII/3.ª, soon tio be discussed in parliament, is for "Defending the hospital in the western Algarve and maintaining all services specialties, human and material resources in Portimão Hospital," and has been organised by the Committee of Users of the Health Services of Portimão.
Portugal's Communist Party and its local MP Paulo Sá are fully behind the petition which now has the required 4,000 signatures for it to be heard in parliament and discussed with health Minister Paulo Macedo who until now has been fully behind the Algarve’s disastrous hospitals management.
The solidarity shown by the PCP in defence of the Algarve’s decline in health care quality, and its deep concern at the Government's policy of merger and concentration of hospitals based on purely economic criteria, has been welcomed in the Algarve where demonstrations by users have combined with votes of no confidence in the local management whose head, Dr Pedro Nunes has been reported to the Medical Council for his uncompromising - some would say cursory - treatment of his professional colleagues.
This is not the first attempt to have the debate heard in parliament as last June, Draft Resolution no.789/XII, which required the Government to end the process of creating the merged hospitals group, was submitted and debated. This resolution was kicked out by the coalition where many MPs have failed on many occasions to listen to any reasonable argument, following doggedly the party line. Sadly some Algarve MPs also voted against the resolution.
It will be interesting to see how the next vote goes as the hospitals merger has, from a users point of view, been an unmitigated disaster with extended waiting times, a lack of drugs and a lack of doctors and other support staff.
The response from the Director of the newly merged hospitals, Dr Pedro Nunes, is that people will get bored of complaning after a while and will simply go away.
