"We appeal to the Regional Government and the national government to consider all possible ways for the hospital to be rehabilitated as quickly as necessary", said the president of Fesap, José Abraão, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira island. On May 3, a fire at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo (HDES) in Ponta Delgada, which started at 9:40am local time and was only declared extinguished at 4:11pm, forced the transfer of all inpatients to various locations in the Azores, Madeira and the mainland. The Regional Government declared a state of public calamity the following day to "accelerate procedures" to allow the activity of the largest Azorean health unit to return to normal in a "short space of time". The president of Fesap expressed solidarity with the hospital workers and with all Azoreans. He also appealed to the Regional Government to maintain "all jobs" at the hospital unit, including those of contract employees. The president of the Union of Public Administration and Public Entities Workers (Sintap) in the Azores, Francisco Pimentel, also appealed for "solidarity from the Republic, but also from the European Union", so that the HDES can once again "provide an essential service for the health of the population of the Azores". "It is necessary to rebuild and rehabilitate the hospital quickly, which is an end-of-the-line hospital, a last resort for the Regional Health Service", he stressed. A week before the vote on the Azores Plan and Budget for 2024, Francisco Pimentel insisted on the need for the document to be approved, so that regional public administration employees can have access to accelerated career progression and increased supplementary pay. "We must not forget that we are in May and we hope that this will be approved. We appeal to the parties with seats in the Legislative Assembly to vote for these two norms", he stressed. The two measures were included in the previous Plan and Budget proposals for 2024, presented by the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition and rejected in November 2023, with votes against from the PS, BE and IL and abstentions from Chega and PAN. The new PSD/CDS-PP/PPM executive, which took office in March, has once again included the two demands in the Plan and Budget proposals, but still does not have a majority in the Azorean parliament to guarantee its approval. Read Also: Ponta Delgada Hospital releases support contacts for users (Portuguese version)