Hot-on-the-heels of last week’s tragedy where a VMER special ambulance was ‘out of commision’ for two hours in which an emergency patient died, Correio da Manhã reveals that the VMER rescue vehicle in Albufeira is often ‘out of commission’ and indeed last Friday was unable to respond to any emergencies for the whole day, from 7.30am to midnight.
The reason, say health chiefs, is that the region has not got the number of doctors it needs to man the VMER emergency response vehicle 24/7.
But it isn’t all bad news. In Portimão and Faro, the VMER vehicles are fully operational, and thus any shortfall in Albufeira can be covered by either.
Talking to CM on Friday, Luís Pereira of the region’s Casualty and Intensive Care Department said the area was also backed by the INEM helicopter stationed in Loulé.
In all, the Algarve has six rapid-response ambulances on call and a total of 18 doctors trained to work in VMER emergency vehicles.
As Algarve hospital chief Dr Pedro Nunes has reiterated since taking over the running of the three regional hospitals two years ago, “we have an extra responsibility to show this area is well covered by health services as we have so many seasonal visitors from all over Europe. Residents and holidaymakers need to feel safe.”
The whole VMER fleet situation came to the fore recently after a 39-year-old man in Caldas da Rainha died after a VMER vehicle was unable to respond to his wife’s emergency call.
Firefighters instead raced to the scene but the man was pronounced dead by the time he arrived in hospital.
Critics of the government’s ongoing streamlining of the health service claimed the situation was “unacceptable” and called for new rules to prohibit health professionals from leaving their posts until they have been substituted. Natasha Donn
