As many as 370 Algarve doctors have signed up to the latest attempt to disgrace hospital administrator Pedro Nunes (pictured).
This new bid follows the ongoing controversy that has dogged Dr Nunes since he took over the management of the region’s three state hospitals last summer.
Off-the-cuff remarks about certain doctors being “donkeys” (synonymous with ‘stupid’ in Portugal) have not endeared him to a staff that was already smarting over health cuts and administrative reorganisation.
In a letter sent to the Minister of Health, as well as a number of other entities, last week, Lusa news agency reports that doctors reaffirmed their discontent – as well as dissatisfaction over what they termed the “absolute silence” of health bosses to criticisms of Dr Nunes’ style of management.
The letter follows a similar statement drawn up in January in which 182 doctors accused Nunes of “degrading patient care in the Algarve” and heavy-handed staff treatment. But the doctor has always maintained the fuss is politically-motivated. He has repeatedly told the Algarve Resident that there are no shortages of any medication or medical equipment, and that services are being streamlined, not decimated.
A recent delegation of Algarve mayors to Lisbon – maintaining Nunes’ position had become untenable – resulted in Health Minister Paulo Macedo expressing his “complete confidence” in the hospital administrator, who for six years led the national doctors association (Ordem dos Médicos).
ARS-Algarve, the regional health authority, also came out in favour of Nunes.
Referring to this latest burst of negative media publicity, backed by Socialist MPs Miguel Freitas and João Soares, Nunes remained sanguine.
“There are no problems and no shortages of anything,” he told us, adding simply that his critics “will end up getting tired”.
“We are committed to improving health services in the Algarve,” he stressed. “And that is really what we want to concentrate on.”
Two “incredibly positive” improvements are the arrival of a special premature baby support vehicle (due in March), and the addition of 27 new casualty beds for Portimão hospital – 18 of which are already in place, he told the Algarve Resident.
