The Prime Minister admitted today that there was a guideline, which he assumed as his own, for greater efficiency in health but he refused to consider cuts, reiterating his confidence in the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins.
Upon leaving the visit to a school in Lisbon, Luís Montenegro was asked about the news from the newspaper Público according to which the Executive Directorate of the SNS gave instructions to hospitals to cut spending, even if this means slowing down consultations and surgeries.
“The word cut is not correct, there is no guidance to cut anything”, he began by saying.
Montenegro then added that there is “a very demanding orientation”, which he assumed as his own, towards greater efficiency and “optimization of resources”.
“We don’t want to cut anything. It means managing better, it means fighting against waste, it means making better choices when purchasing goods and services, so that we can have the resources we need, so that we can have a remunerative policy, in terms of valuing careers, that is adequate to be able to attract and retain more health professionals in the system”he stated.
Asked about the Health Minister’s resignation, made today by the leader of the PS, Montenegro repeated that all ministers in the Government have his trust.
“If I didn’t have the conditions, I wouldn’t be in the Government”, he replied.