In an update
The president of the National Institute for Medical Emergencies, Luís Meira, resigned this Monday, which was accepted by the Minister of Health, one day after the exchange of accusations regarding the competition for the air transport service for patients, said the Ministry. source to Lusa agency.
The news was originally released at News SIC. When contacted by the Observer, the Ministry of Health did not confirm the information and sent clarifications to a statement to be published next Monday.
At issue is the contracting of emergency medical helicopters, a procedure that has created a difference between the leadership of INEM and the government. INEM announced this weekend that it will sign a new contract directly with the company Avincis – which operates the four helicopters operating in mainland Portugal.
INEM and the Ministry of Health with different opinions on the offer for emergency medical helicopters
It was decided that the executive did not satisfy Luís Montenegro, who would have preferred a public competition to take place. This Sunday, the Ministry of Health sent a note to Lusa indicating that INEM could launch a public tender for the patient air transport service based on resolution 2023 from the Council of Ministers, avoiding extending the direct award.
This past Monday, the JN wrote that the A government statement created “great discontent” within INEM’s managementwho saw the repairs at the Ministry, led by Ana Paula Martins, as a breach of trust.
This Monday, Luís Meira came to Lisbon to explain to the Minister of Health, in a meeting that lasted about 45 minutes, that a public tender was opened at the beginning of the year, but ended without any company sending a proposal within the established budget for service. There were two proposals but both were over the 12 million euro limit.
With the award deadline just ending in April, the INEM tried, together with the government, to change the conditions of the offer, by increasing the maximum value allowed or by changing the operating time of the helicopter., under penalty of the competition continuing without collecting valid proposals. According to INEM, the guardianship’s response never came, so the institute’s management decided to extend the direct agreement with Avincis.
The Government is studying changes in the leadership of INEM
Remember that from 2024, only two helicopters (those operating from Loulé, in the Algarve, and from Macedo de Cavaleiros, in Trás os Montes) are operating 24 hours a day. The other two, located in Évora and Viseu, only work 12 hours a day.
At the beginning of June, the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, announced that the authority was studying changes in the leadership of INEM and considered it necessary to restore this body. “If there is something that needs to be restored, it is INEM. It is a very basic element in the health response capacity”, said the Minister, at the Health Commission of the Assembly of the Republic.