main
President
Regional Government
Citizen Space
Business Space
About Azores
  news Legislation Schedule Communities Contacts Portal Map Links Help
Versão PortuguesaMUDAR LÍNGUA
See in: entities  categories
 

Administration
Agriculture and Forestry
Business Relations with the Regional Government
Civil Protection
Closing a company
Communities
Culture
Economical Inspection
Education
Elections
Employment
Energy
Environment
Financing and Incentives
Fisheries
Health
Housing and Infrastructures
Human Resource Management
Importing/Exporting
Industry
Inovation, Reserach and Development and Technology
Law, Regulations
Legislation
Leisure_and_Utilities
Rights
Science and Technology
Social Security
Sport
Starting a company
Statistics and Indicators
Statistics
Taxes
Tourism
Trade
Transports
Youth

 
Media
      

Get News of the Government by RSS - click here
Know more about RSS ...

 

Horta ,  March 20, 2013

Budget for 2013 provides "reinforcement" of 30 million Euros for Regional Health Service

 

The Regional Secretary for Health reiterated today at the Legislative Assembly that the Region's budget for 2013 provides "an effective reinforcement of 30 million Euros for the Regional Health Service (SRS)."

Speaking at the debate on the proposals for the Medium-Term Guidelines, the Annual Plan and Regional Budget for 2013, Luís Cabral stressed that in a restrained budget "this is a significant amount and an important contribution" to balance the budgets of heath units.

However, the Regional Secretary stressed that "it will be necessary to undertake an effort to contain costs, which will achieved with the restructuring measures that are being prepared and will be made public in due time."

In this regard, Luís Cabral considered "strange" that oppositions "recognises the need to rationalise the system and points some areas where it is possible to save, but, at the same time, complain to the media that this effort only consists in a series of cuts in an area where is not longer possible to do so."

Luís Cabral stressed that the Government takes this effort "very seriously as it gives the possibility of the SRS to have a budget in 2013 that corresponds to its actual spending unlike Mainland Portugal where, according to official data from 2011, the health sector registered a budget deficit of 45%."

Moreover, the government official recalled that "provision of health care to the Azorean population" should be the "cornerstone" of the SRS and underlined the importance of ensuring a health service that is focused on the goals of "supporting those who are sick and need to receive care at health units and providing an adequate response to those who rely on the health services to promote their health."

According to the Regional Secretary for Health, "in the last years several investments were made in terms of health infrastructures."  Nowadays, the Region has “a good quality network of hospitals and health units; some of which are of excellent quality." In coming years, priority will be given to the organisation of health services.

Under of the reorganisation of the hospital network, Luís Cabral announced the Government's intention to "improve the coordination between primary and hospital," adding that "primary care will be reinforced with the gradual transfer of services provided in hospitals to health units."

"We also intend to reorganise and restructure the network of continued and palliative care in order to render it more effective and cover more patients," the Regional Secretary said, adding that the Government will also give priority to the accreditation of health units by "changing procedures as well as clinical and administrative practices that will lead to greater efficiency, enhance the safety of health users and allow the development of health tourism."

Luís Cabral also promised "an increased implementation" of telemedicine in the Azores. According to him, the Government aims to turn it into "a solid support tool for clinical practices either between health units and hospitals or between the latter and national hospitals."

"In this field, all RX, CT scan and MRI equipments and even the point of care testing equipments that are being purchased by health units can be connected to computers, allowing the transmission of clinical information remotely," stated the government official.

Under the Plan for 2013, the Regional Secretary for Health also highlighted the allocation of a "very significant" sum (800 thousand Euros) for the computerisation of health facilities, the expansion of SIV (immediate life support) ambulances and the acquisition of the necessary medical equipment for the provision of an effective response to medical emergencies across the archipelago.

"A total of 5.5 million Euros will be allocated to Civil Protection - now integrated in the health sector - to support the acquisition of vehicles, renewal and repair of fire stations and the compliance with the protocols established with the University of the Azores in the area of scientific cooperation," stated Luís Cabral.


GaCS/FG
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

Official government press-releases presented in all foreign languages interfaces of the Azorean Government Portal (Portal do Governo dos Açores) are a sub-set of the government's official press-releases daily output and are chosen for translation and publication on the foreign language interfaces based on audience segmentation criteria. The entire collection of the Azorean government press-releases is available in portuguese, here, from the GACS Press Office site.

 
   Print   Send Send News   GaCS GaCS Site   Regional Press Regional Press   rss  
     

Last News

Search
 
Where?
Advanced Search >>
 
 



 
 

This e-mail address is at your disposal for you to place your questions to the Regional Government of the Azores.
Ask the Government!

 

Health Ombudsman
  
Listen to this Page LISTEN
Go to top of page TOP
help HELP
Versão PortuguesaMUDAR LÍNGUA

 
Símbol of Acessibilidade on Web
main | President | Regional Government | Citizen Space | Business Space | About Azores | My Site