Carlos César opens Hydrotherapy Unit on Flores and calls for saving and creativity
The President of the Government of the Azores said on Wednesday that “the recent financial difficulties felt across the world are an incentive for creativity and a favourable time for taking action which, despite being pondered, was awaiting the stimulus created by necessity.”
Carlos César, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the Hydrotherapy Unit of the Santa Cruz das Flores Healthcare Centre, mentioned the new legal framework for pharmacies, with implications on the medicine policy in the Region, and the introduction of the “single dose” policy in hospital pharmacies which may be extended to the remaining pharmacies.
Considering that what can be saved and better managed in the public health system can be reinvested for the benefit of diversity and quality of health care, the President of the Government said that “without the adoption of these saving measures the initial investments in infrastructures, such as the ones at the projects for three new healthcare centres on Graciosa, Pico or in Ponta Delgada, the new hospital on Terceira, the expansion of the Horta Hospital or even the construction of a Radiotherapy Centre would be unsustainable due to their operation costs.
The mobilisation of more human and financial resources has allowed, on the other hand, the implementation of regional screenings which are fundamental in health prevention, such as the ongoing screening for breast cancer and cervical cancer, and the forthcoming screenings for colorectal cancer and diabetic retinopathy.
Furthermore, Carlos César revealed that with regard to breast cancer, over 13,500 women have been screened, of whom 9.6% were referred for follow-up appointments, having been detected some positive cases. In turn, the screening of cervical cancer will approximately cover a larger number of women, approximately 75000 on all islands, in a project to be developed over the next three years.
“The statistical data confirm the positive trend that registered in the health sector. It is a fact that the health sector has significantly improved in the Azores in the past fifteen years,” revealed the President of the Government.
According to the data provided, that the number of doctors in the Azores grew from 356 to 491, the nursing staff from 816 to 1336 and the diagnostic technicians rose from 161 to 257.
“In terms of productivity, the trend is identical: 470,000 appointments were registered 1995 while there now are 560,000 and the number of complementary exams doubled,” added Carlos César.
The Hydrotherapy Unit of the Santa Cruz das Flores Healthcare Centre of is one of the services integrated in the second phase of the renewal works of that centre, which also includes an autopsy room and a hyperbaric medicine section, whose equipment is expected to be installed soon.
For Carlos César, “the hydrotherapy services aims to provide local residents with a wider and qualified response in the treatment of many diseases, including rheumatic, orthopaedic and traumas. Its advantages are also clearly recognised in many other areas, particularly for patients with Machado-Joseph disease.”