INEM threatens emergency intervention. We may go on strike until August.

In Portugal, things are very complicated again on the emergency healthcare side, the situation on the ground is really dire. The Labor Committee of the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM) put its bet on the table: Either the administration withdraws those controversial decisions announced on Friday, or the entire healthcare system will be locked down with a strike in August. So, what is it that has stirred up the field so much? INEM President Luís Mendes Cabral came out and said that they would transfer exactly 100 ambulances from the operational fleet. According to the plan, 54 of these vehicles will be given directly to hospitals (ULS), while the remaining 46 Emergency Life Support (SIV) ambulances will be converted into 'light vehicles' as we know them. Cabral is trying to market this as "bringing INEM into the 21st century with more budget, modern equipment and artificial intelligence," he told TSF Radio. However, the reality on the ground is very different. Neither the Labor Committee nor the Emergency Service Technicians Union (STEPH) believes these words. What the committee spokesman Rui Gonçalves said actually summarizes the situation: "When those 46 ambulances lose that qualification, they will no longer be able to transport patients. If you take 100 vehicles from INEM's hands, you will put the burden on the firefighters and the Red Cross. Let alone the development, the response times, which are already dragging in the south of Lisbon and Tagus, will become even more disastrous." The real danger behind this is the emptying of the public service. Gonçalves says it without any deception; The aim is to render the emergency health service inoperable and open the door to the private sector. Either the government is making fun of the public's mind or it is clearly giving space to the private sector. All eyes are now on Health Minister Ana Paula Martins. Employees expect a clear stance from the Minister: Either he will declare that he does not approve of this plan and dismiss the INEM President, or he will face the huge protests that will continue throughout August. It's not just the ministry; A call was also made to the mayors of 71 affected municipalities, from Braga to Setúbal, from Faro to Porto. Because towing a vehicle from the field means gambling with the lives of people in that area. "Artificial intelligence and modernization" may sound nice with fancy words on paper, but when you take the man behind the wheel and the ambulance on the road, we and the patients pay the price for it in the field. The government needs to stop making fancy promises and listen to the voice of the field as soon as possible.