After months (if not years) of controversy, INEM has undergone a seismic change. Overnight, its president Sérgio Janeiro was ‘replaced’ (not fired, according to a source for the health ministry) and its denomination changed: INEM has morphed to ANEM – meaning it has gone from being an institute to an authority.
Sérgio Janeiro’s watch (initially touted as being ‘just for 60 days’) began in the summer of 2024 after his predecessor “lost confidence” in the hierarchy, and the man chosen to replace him also backed out. It has been marked by real nadirs in the institute’s history: a strike in which multiple emergency calls were left unanswered, and various deaths occurred; a shambles regarding the hiring of emergency helicopter cover and chaos in general book-keeping.
Health minister Ana Paula Martins has thus opted for a clean sweep: get rid of INEM altogether, create a new brand, bring in an entirely new board, and import a ‘new face’ – former secretary of state for health in the Azores, Luís Cabral, who will now ostensibly be taking office on November 3.
For the record, a source for the health ministry has told Lusa: “There was no resignation of the president of INEM. Following a competition opened by CReSAP (the public administration recruitment and selection commission) for the recruitment and selection of the president of INEM, one of the three candidates validated during this process was chosen.”
So, is everyone happy? No, according to RTP today: even before Luís Cabral’s nomination has been rubber-stamped by the Council of Ministers, “professionals in the sector” have written to the prime minister to ask him to “reevaluate the choice”. Why? Because of failings in the Azores emergency medical system, which, according to the concerned signatories of the letter, namely STEPH (the syndicate of pre-hospital emergency technicians), are very similar to those at INEM (or even ANEM).
In the letter, STEPH appeals to Luís Montenegro to “reevaluate this eventual nomination” to guarantee that the choice for the name of the presidency of INEM (ANEM) is “guided by the principles of competence, continuity and public interest” – something STEPH does not feel is happening.
Earlier this week, STEPH referred to “multiple and legitimate concerns” over the prospect of working under Luís Cabral.
Source: RTP/ LUSA
