Pedro Azevedo's Appointment Amidst Hospital Turmoil
Pedro Azevedo was appointed in February 2025 to lead the Unidade Local de Saúde Almada-Seixal, which includes Garcia de Orta Hospital, after the previous administration was ousted due to issues in the Obstetrics emergency department. He was not the first choice of the health ministry.
Minister's Admission and Blame Game
This Monday, the Health Minister made a mea culpa for breaking a promise made just over two months ago but also pointed fingers at the ULS administration for guaranteeing a solution—reinforcing the service with seven doctors from the private sector—that failed to materialize fully. The hospital only managed to hire four doctors, with two already working there as temporary staff.
ULS's Failed Plan and Minister's Confusion
The ULS Almada-Seixal promised a "plan," but it fell through, and the minister "doesn't even understand why." Ana Paula Martins stated, "I won't pass responsibilities to anyone; they are mine and I assume them," yet she criticized the ULS, saying she trusted the plan presented to her. It's very penalizing for me to have politically assumed a solution that was guaranteed to me and see it undone without even understanding why, she added during a ceremony in Lisbon.
Background on Pedro Azevedo
Pedro Azevedo, a 40-year-old specialist in Internal Medicine and a member of PSD/Almada, took over as head of the ULS Council of Administration. With no prior experience in hospital management, he was previously the coordinator of the Home Hospitalization service at CUF hospitals, a pioneering private sector service he helped found during the pandemic.
His appointment came after the previous administration, led by Teresa Luciano—a pharmacist with extensive hospital management experience—was removed without public justification. This pattern mirrors other ULS changes where new leaders lack management experience and have ties to PSD.
Previous Administration's Ousting and Ongoing Issues
The previous administration was ousted due to failures in the Obstetrics department, particularly in summer 2024 when Garcia de Orta couldn't maintain the rotation agreement with other hospitals in Setúbal Peninsula, leading to a total closure of Obstetrics emergencies over a weekend. Teresa Luciano claimed the removal was "taken without justification" and communicated in a brief phone call.
She attributed the difficulties to a shortage of doctors, with only two available amid older doctors exempt from emergencies and others on maternity leave.
Leadership Changes and Unresolved Problems
The first choice for ULS president was Jorge Seguro Sanches, a former Secretary of State for Energy, but he withdrew after accepting. Pedro Azevedo, familiar with Garcia de Orta from his time as a intern and specialist there from 2010 to 2021, was then invited. He took office in February 2025 after the previous team refused to resign.
Despite the new administration, summer 2025 saw similar issues, with the loss of seven obstetric specialists in the first half of the year exacerbating the problem. The change in administration did not solve the structural issue of obstetrician shortages, repeating the crisis almost identically to the previous year.
Azevedo's professional background is tied to Garcia de Orta, where he worked before moving to the private sector in 2021 to develop a similar home hospitalization unit for CUF.
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