The Regional Secretary for Health highlighted the role of general practitioners in prevention policies by influencing the choices of patients in the adoption of healthy living habits instead of risk behaviours.
"I would say that general practitioners are the great allies in the implementation of preventive measures and in strengthening the confidence of patients in our Regional Health Service," said Rui Luís.
The Secretary for Health spoke at the opening of the 17th Conference of General Practitioners of the Azores, stressing his pride in general practitioners and health professionals working in the Region as well as in the significant improvement in health care.
In his speech, Rui Luís recalled the programmes implemented by the Regional Government in the area of prevention, namely in the fight against smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity.
According to the Regional Secretary, there are already immediate effects of the measures and campaigns implemented, namely the increase of the tax burden on tobacco and the provision of smoking cessation consultations.
"We have already raised taxes on tobacco and, this year, we already register a decrease in revenue. The conclusion is that people are smoking less, which means that this administrative measure had the desired effect," said the government official.
Rui Luís also highlighted the Government's concern regarding oncology and the targeted intervention for young people, recalling the "Smoke-free Homes and Cars" programme.
"Our concern is to increasingly invest in actions aimed young people and we are doing so through a programme for 4th form students, which we expect to starting yielding results in the near future," said the government official.
At the ceremony that also marked the opening of the Regional Meeting of General Practice Interns and Doctors, Rui Luís also mentioned the reinforcement of training in 2019 for interns and the improvement of access conditions to courses.
"Training is a priority for doctors in the Azores," said Rui Luís. As "there are interns on several islands of the archipelago, it is fundamental to ensure that everyone has the same access conditions to training."
The Regional Secretary reiterated that the reopening of the Azores Office of the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine will contribute to this reinforcement of the training component.
"We intend to provide doctors with the same conditions as if they were in a large territory and could have access to the training available to everyone," said Rui Luís.