PS accuses PSD of replacing Algarve health administration board with party loyalists in a “partisan abuse of power”
The executive board of Portugal’s National Health Service (SNS) has announced a sweeping change in the administration of the Algarve Local Health Unit (ULS), dismissing the current board and appointing Tiago Botelho Martins da Silva as the new president.
This shift, according to local Socialist Party (PS) leaders, stems from what they call a ‘partisan abuse of power’ by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and a drive to place party loyalists in key health administration roles.
The move has sparked immediate backlash, particularly from the Algarve Federation of the Socialist Party (PS Algarve), which accused the PSD-led government of removing the board by email without providing any “motive or basis” for the decision.
In its statement, PS Algarve states that board members appointed by the prior PSD government of Pedro Passos Coelho were allowed to complete their terms, even during the socialist governance period of Prime Minister António Costa. The socialists accuse PSD of an “attempted takeover of the State” and urge the government to demonstrate “democratic humility” by respecting “state institutions, rule of law, and public office independence.”
Luís Graça, the PS Algarve leader and deputy, has confirmed the party will not request a hearing with the Minister of Health on this issue, as the work of parliamentary committees is currently suspended due to the ongoing State Budget discussions for 2025.
However, he underlined that this will not prevent the minister from being questioned on the matter when she appears before Parliament.
“I regret that, over the past seven months, the minister’s agenda has not been to solve the problems of the SNS, but rather to replace ULS administrations with PSD members. It seems that this is the Minister of Health’s mandate. And she learned nothing from replacing the former executive director of the SNS, which led to the shutdown of emergency services,” he told Público newspaper.
Meanwhile, ULS Algarve issued a statement confirming the appointment of Tiago Botelho, who holds a degree in Economics and specialised in Economic and Business Sciences. Botelho boasts years of experience in the health sector, having served as a member of the now-dissolved Algarve Regional Health Administration (ARS) board for six years and previously working as an “advisor to the Secretary of State for Health in the 14th Constitutional Government”. In this capacity, he contributed to initiatives aimed at integrating business principles within SNS hospital management, the statement adds.
Promising a commitment to continuity, Botelho outlined his goals to the Algarve community and healthcare professionals, prioritising projects such as constructing the new Central Hospital of Algarve, establishing a Regional Oncology Centre for the South, and expanding family doctor coverage. Both the central hospital and oncology centre projects were recently singled out as main goals of PSD’s proposed State Budget for 2025, a document which the regional delegation of the social democratic party hails as a budget that “makes the Algarve a priority.”
During a joint handover meeting on Wednesday, Botelho assured his predecessor’s team that he would stay in close contact over the coming weeks to facilitate a smooth transition.
