Azores in situation of regional public calamity due to fire at Hospital – Portugal

This Sunday, the Government of the Azores declared a situation of public calamity due to the fire at Ponta Delgada Hospital to “accelerate procedures” that would allow the activity of the largest Azorean health unit to be “normalized” in a “short space of time”.

“The Government Council, meeting today in an extraordinary manner, declared a state of regional public calamity for the Azores due to the fire on Saturday at the Hospital Divino Espírito Santo (HDES), in Ponta Delgada, which led to the evacuation of all patients from the unit hospital”, reads a press release from the Azorean executive (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM).

The Regional Government justifies the measure with the objective of “streamlining and accelerating procedures, particularly public procurement, that allow HDES to normalize, in the shortest possible time, its activity”.

This Sunday, speaking to the Lusa agency, the regional secretary of Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, said that the Ponta Delgada Hospital has already been subject to two inspections, but there is still no forecast for resuming normal operation in the largest Azorean health unit. .

The fire in the hospital forced the transfer of all hospitalized patients.

At the time of the fire, there were “333 patients in the Hospital in Ponta Delgada” and it was necessary to “transfer 240 patients”, according to the head of Health in the Azores.

Critical and seriously ill patients were transferred to the CUF hospital, in the city of Lagoa, and the rest to health centers.

In addition, 30 users undergoing hemodialysis and 26 users were transferred to Hospital da Horta, on the island of Faial, and 26 users to Hospital do Santo Espírito, on Terceira island.

During today, two pregnant women will also be transferred to Madeira, according to the head of the Health department.

“There are around 110 patients at the headquarters of the São Miguel Island Unit, in Ponta Delgada”, the government official told Lusa.

On the other hand, “and to guarantee the response at the CUF Hospital, in terms of intensive care, it was also decided to transfer, to the Terceira Island Hospital, three patients who were admitted to that service, added Mónica Seidi.