<![CDATA[ Hospital de Évora. Demitiu-se o Conselho de Administração ]]>

The Board of Directors of the Central Alentejo Local Health Unit (ULSAC) today submitted its resignation to the Government due to disagreements regarding responsibility for the construction of the new Alentejo Central Hospital, in Évora.

In a statement sent to Lusa, ULSAC, based in Évora, said it had today communicated the resignations of the members of the administration to the Ministers of Health and State and Finance, Ana Paula Martins and Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, respectively. The board of directors (CA) of this local health unit is chaired by Vítor Rui Gomes Fialho, with António Henrique Martins Guerreiro and Maria do Céu da Cruz Canhão as executive members, while Maria Rebocho is the clinical director, Nuno Jacinto is the clinical director for the Primary Health Care Area and José Chora is the head nurse. Contacted by Lusa, a source at ULSAC confirmed that they had all resigned from their respective positions. In the statement, the board of directors clarified that the resignation from the positions "was motivated, among other reasons, by the fact that [this body] does not agree with the instruction contained" in the dispatch of February 17, from the Secretary of State for Health Management regarding the management of the construction of the New Central Hospital of Alentejo (NHCA). For the Board of Directors of ULSAC, this work, "after more than 40 months of execution, is still far from its completion, when it was expected to be completed in 30 months and completed during 2024". "Its foreseeable completion in 2026, or even 2027, requires a management model different from the one defined, otherwise it will continue to accumulate costs and delays", it warned. The aforementioned Government dispatch, consulted by Lusa, in its point number 1, sub-delegates to the ULSAC Board of Directors, with the power of sub-delegation, the powers to carry out "all the necessary steps for the proper execution of the construction contracts, construction supervision, as well as protocols in force related to the investment projects" of that new hospital. Even so, "without prejudice to the powers of the Central Administration of the Health System, IP, with regard to monitoring its financial execution, its execution in facilities and equipment, and the provision of the technical support necessary for the timely completion of the investment project in question", it can be read. According to the dispatch, ULSAC is also assigned the "performance of the acts proper to the owner of the works in the construction contract" of the new central hospital, "as well as the succession in the contractual position of the Regional Health Administration of Alentejo in other contracts related to the construction of the aforementioned project". And, among other points contained in the document, ULSAC is also responsible for "the necessary and indispensable steps to build the public infrastructure and accessibility that prove necessary for the subsequent construction of access roads and surrounding road circulation" to the hospital, as well as "sanitation and water and energy supply infrastructures, with a view to ensuring the full entry into operation of this building". Previously, through Decree-Law No. 54/2024, of September 6, the Central Administration of the Health System, IP, was assigned the responsibility for completing the construction of the new Hospital do Alentejo, with the human resources of the Regional Health Administration of Alentejo, IP, assigned to the work being integrated into that entity, stated ULSAC. "The instruction set out in Order No. 2152/2025 conflicts with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 54/2024 and makes it impossible for the ULSAC Board of Directors to pursue its main mission: ensuring the provision of differentiated and quality healthcare to the population of Alentejo", it can be read.

Describing the decision to resign from the positions as "difficult", the local unit's Board of Directors said that this "will allow the Ministry of Health to implement the policies and measures it deems necessary, with the required speed, preventing the current Board of Directors from constituting an obstacle to their implementation".