The leader of left-wing party Bloco de Esquerda (BE) has branded the possible extinction of the Algarve delegation of the National Emergency Medicine Institute (INEM) as “pure irresponsibility”, warning that people’s safety is at stake.
Speaking to Lusa after meeting INEM officials in Loulé, José Manuel Pureza said ending the Algarve delegation would make no sense, especially in the only region of the country that triples its resident population for three months of the year.
“It is pure irresponsibility to end this service, to remove its autonomy, to strip it of its own existence. It makes no sense, it is pure irresponsibility,” he said, calling on Health Minister Ana Paula Martins to clarify the future of the regional branch.
The controversy follows a proposal by the Independent Technical Commission (CTI) for the restructuring of INEM, which suggests creating a single call centre merging CODU and SNS24, with three regional centres based in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra.
Under that model, the Algarve delegation would no longer appear in the organisational structure of the future Public Medical and Pre-Hospital Emergency Service.
Pureza recalled that the Algarve INEM lost its autonomy in 2012 during the troika period, regained it in 2023, and now risks seeing it removed again. “What results from that report seems to be a return to a situation in which INEM Algarve did not exist autonomously,” he said.
He described the possible move as “absolutely unacceptable” and a “very heavy blow” to healthcare in a region already facing structural problems.
“We all know that the promise of the Algarve Hospital is a promise constantly postponed,” he said, adding that emergency services in the region still lack certain medical specialties, forcing many patients to be transferred to Lisbon for treatment.
“That means there is a large deficit in provision, in guarantees, in safety, in the area of health in this part of the country,” he stressed.
Although no formal announcement has been made, the BE leader warned the government against following the commission’s recommendations.
“The Bloco is here to tell the Minister of Health not to dare follow what is set out in the report, because that is an attack on the safety of people in the Algarve, on their right to health,” he said.
He also urged the minister to clarify the situation quickly, arguing that the uncertainty is creating alarm among the population.
The INEM regional headquarters in Loulé, inaugurated in May 2024 following an investment of around €2 million, includes a training centre, the Centre for Urgent Patient Guidance (CODU), regional coordination offices, nursing coordination, logistics support and operational facilities.
The building is part of Loulé’s Security and Civil Protection complex, which also houses the Municipal Fire Brigade, the Regional Command for Emergency and Civil Protection and the municipal heliport, one of the bases for INEM helicopters.
