The new Chamusca Health Center was inaugurated this week, March 26th, by the Mayor of Chamusca City Council, Paulo Queimado and the Minister of Health, Manuel Pizarro, a total investment of over €2M, of which €1.8M were financed by the Regional Health Administration (ARS) and more than 200 thousand euros contributed by the Municipality of Chamusca, which also provided the technical project and the land on which the building is built.
The new Chamusca Health Center, a vital structure of extreme importance for the entire population of the Municipality, is located in the 1º de Maio neighborhood and serves more than eight thousand users, 60% of whom do not have a family doctor. The new building consists of four medical offices, four nursing offices, two treatment rooms, an oral health office and a Movement office, among other work offices.
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The Family Health Unit (USF) and the Community Care Unit (UCC) are now installed in this infrastructure. The new building provides a space of superior quality to its users, offering them better service conditions, as well as offering better working conditions and comfort to healthcare professionals, not only for those who already work there, but also to attract and hire new health professionals.
Currently working with two Family Doctors within the USF of Chamusca, one part-time doctor and three contract doctors, without full time, the latter, who ensure Health Extensions in the parishes, the Mayor hopes that this new health center can attract more health professionals, who see our territory as a new opportunity to practice their profession, enjoying a better quality of life, at more affordable costs compared to large urban centers.
In his speech, Paulo Queimado began by referring to the inauguration day as a historic moment for the municipality of Chamusca, highlighting that it was with “immeasurable joy” that he inaugurated the new facilities at the Chamusca Health Center.
“The new building marks not only the culmination of a dream cherished for more than two decades, but also the beginning of a new era in the provision of primary health care in our community”, highlighting that he hopes that this new Health Center will not represents only a significant improvement in the conditions for providing services, but also represents a new dynamic of work in the health area, with more coordination, more synergies and more community dynamics.
Along with the inauguration, the Automation of Transfer of Skills from the central state to the local authority in the health area was signed. This change, which aims for greater efficiency and proximity in the management of health infrastructures, opens up new possibilities for a true dynamic of joint work between health and local authorities, in favor of the well-being of the Chamusquense community.
Paulo Queimado also highlighted the increased importance of continuing to operate health extensions in the parishes of the Municipality. In such a vast territory, with such an aging population (many without family support) and with limitations in the transport network, “these extensions are vital to ensure that no citizen is left behind in accessing healthcare”, he stated.
Manuel Pizarro, said that the Municipality of Chamusca “will be very well served with the new Health Center which includes new, modern and comfortable equipment”, and was very optimistic regarding the future of the USF, particularly this new space of primary care aimed at users in the municipality of Chamusca.
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