Big changes are in the pipeline for INEM
Portugal’s health minister said on Wednesday that the re-founding of the country’s trouble-torn INEM emergency institute will involve making it a special regime public institute, strengthening the board of directors with more members and having representatives from the fire brigade and the Red Cross on the technical and scientific committee.
Ana Paula Martins was speaking at the Parliamentary Health Committee, where she was heard this morning on the re-founding of the National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM) at the request of the Left Bloc.
In the past months, INEM’s shortcomings have been exposed as desperate calls to the 112 emergency hotline have gone unanswered or have involved lengthy waits – which in emergency situations can be the difference between life and death.
The government has been promising a response to the delicate situation, with the re-founding of the institute being presented as a solution to its woes.
According to the minister, the re-founding will elevate INEM’s status as a national authority for medical emergencies, focusing on its role as a regulator and manager of the Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIEM). The board of directors will expand to include three members – a president and two others – while the technical and scientific committee will gain representatives from the fire brigade and the Red Cross.
The minister also guaranteed that the government “is not going to privatise the CODU” (the Urgent Patients Guidance Centre), addressing concerns raised by PS MP, João Paulo Correia.
The minister also discussed an ongoing international tender for patient air transport services. Five companies have already expressed interest, and selections will be finalised by the year’s end.
“We’re giving it more time, and at least five companies have already expressed an interest in the tender. It’s a big difference because the amounts involved are not significantly higher and don’t correspond to what had been requested by the companies that had applied,” she said.
When asked about the institute’s re-founding, she said that it involves looking at human resources and considered it necessary to have multi-year partnerships with the partners (firefighters and the Red Cross).
The government has also ensured that unused funds remain with INEM, a shift from previous practices where leftover resources were diverted to public debt or other expenses.
The minister also recognised the lack of conditions in the CODU, which has “not very modern equipment and screens that don’t show the available resources”.
The CODU system is “very different from that of the PSP, which has electronic switchboards and is a real crisis management room,” the minister said.
Ana Paula Martins also said that the re-founding of INEM also involves looking at human resources. Regarding negotiations with pre-hospital emergency technicians, she expressed a desire to review the entire designation of career categories to move forward with an increase in salaries, but she pointed out that it couldn’t be done “all at once”.
“There are all the conditions to make more significant progress now because INEM has its own revenues,” said Ana Paula Martins, emphasising that the government will not create significant imbalances with other public administration careers.
Source: LUSA
