Coordinator of the “Emergency Plan” for Health compares the current period to the pandemic and calls for “solidarity”

The coordinator of the working group created by the Ministry of Health to prepare the “Emergency Plan” promised by the Government recognizes that “the current moment is one of acute crisis” and that we are “faced with the need to avoid the collapse of the health system” The doctor even says, in an opinion article published this Wednesday in Jornal de Notícias, that we live in times like the Covid-19 pandemic: “The pandemic taught us that health is a collective good, and that yours is a collective good. protection depends on joint actions”, which are now necessary again.

Eurico Castro Alves calls for the “solidarity” shown during Covid-19, for “mass mobilization”, as well as for the “clear demonstration of the human desire to contribute to a greater good”, in this case, “ensuring that all Portuguese people without exception have access to dignified and safe healthcare.” “The solidarity shown during the pandemic can be a source of inspiration for the next steps.”

The closest step on the agenda is in a month’s time, with the presentation of the strategy so that the provision of care is ensured in a timely manner, from the outset, during the difficult summer months in which already limited professional resources become scarce. “We need an approach that combines social responsibility with public investment and innovation.”

“Citizens must respect available resources”

The surgeon is clear in his words: “Just as a collective desire for protection and solidarity was expressed, now we need a similar commitment to defend our healthcare system. This means supporting public policies that promote universal access to healthcare, and encouraging civil society participation to help solve local problems.” For example, “citizens must take care of their own health and respect available resources”.

Leading a team with 12 more members, the former president of Infarmed explains that “the time is now to unite and move forward”. And he reinforces: “It is time to add up and not to accuse, assuming that everyone governed doing their best, despite being subject to their own ‘circumstances’.”