The Portuguese fire brigade said this Friday that it intends to “scrupulously” comply with the cooperation agreement with INEM, warning of an attempt to “disperse” the delay in sending ambulances.
“Because INEM has a certain disrespect for its privileged partner, because 80 or 90% of the services that are performed in the pre-hospital stage are performed by firefighters, and if there is not adequate dialogue with us, this naturally makes it perfectly reasonable that we allow to demand, so that the agreement made with us is fully respected,” League President António Nunez told Lusa on Friday.
According to the representative of the League of Portuguese Firefighters (LBP), “only the implementation of the agreements makes sense.”
“In some cases, we feel that we are being asked for support beyond what was agreed,” António Nunez stressed at the end of the LBP executive board meeting, which took place this Friday in Viana do Castelo.
“We are going to consider each of the points of the agreement and strictly observe the points. What is not agreed is not fulfilled,” he added.
António Nunez stressed that it is wrong for the League to try to create a dispersal around very serious situations, referring to several situations with delays in sending ambulances.
“INEM cannot take an hour or an hour and a half to mobilize a fire ambulance so that we come to the rescue, and the population looked at us and said that we arrived in an hour. arrived, it took INEM an hour and a half to find an ambulance, because she did not agree with them in advance,” he defended.
For the LBP President, the delay situation will continue because “the problem will not be solved with two or ten ambulances,” indicating the need for “deep reform of the system and the way of managing emergencies.” organized.”
“If INEM has 800 or 900 calls, he can’t have 400 ambulances, he has to have 900, he has to contract firefighters who have ambulances. There is no shortage of ambulances in the country, there is no management and contractualization,” he shot.
On Thursday, INEM announced that the Integrated Emergency Medical Services (SIEM) system will be reinforced with 10 more ambulances starting Aug. 1, operating in areas where demand for services has been higher.
According to a statement from the National Institute of Emergency Medical Services (INEM), in total, “strengthening the emergency medical device means adding 33 funds at the national level.”
The fire chief, in turn, considered the statement a “farce”, as he understands that this advance number does not solve the problem.
Also, according to INEM, in the north of the country, the device now has three more Emergency Medical Services (PEM) at CVP locations in Braga, Vila do Conde (an ambulance operating in Matosinhos) and Sanguedo (Santa Maria da Feira).
In the south, and especially in the Setúbal area, seven new PEMs will be added: firefighters from Pinjal Novo, Santo André, Alvalade (Sado), Grandola, Barreiro – Public Rescue Corps, as well as firefighters from Sesimbra and Santiago do. Kasem.
In a statement, INEM mentions that, given the increase in the volume of emergency medical services that has occurred, INEM) together with its SIEM partners – fire brigades (CB) and the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP) – “prepared a new strengthening of the device of emergency medical facilities to make its more efficient” in August and September.
António Nunez, in turn, said that the League “strongly opposes this unilateral decision” because it is seasonal and does not apply to “the entire territory of the country.”
“This is unacceptable (…), which does not mean that we do not agree that these fire stations are covered by PEM posts. We advocate that all fire stations in Portugal should be PEM posts,” he explained.
Regarding the role of guardianship, António Nunez told Lusa that he expects the Ministry of Health, as INEM’s guardianship organization, “to hand over INEM and give instructions that it cannot be an omnipotent master, regulator, overseer, inspector, competitor of firefighters. “.
The head of the LBP also noted that firefighters already existed before INEM to deliver the sick and injured to the hospital.
“Therefore, we demand that we be treated as partners and we hope that INEM will be put in its place and that it will respect us in the same way that we respect INEM,” he stressed.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
