The dismissed provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), Ana Jorge, reiterated on Wednesday that she was surprised by the announcement that the body's Board would be dismissed, having once again refuted the accusations of "total inaction" and mismanagement made by the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho.

The former official, who was before Parliament on Wednesday, blamed the previous management for the "financial disaster" she faced, on RTP 3's 'Grande Entrevista' programme.

When drawing the timeline, Ana Jorge admitted to having been caught by "surprise", since "she had been with the minister on 12 April", in a meeting in which she "told her that the situation was becoming more composed".

"I told her that I would be available to continue. She said yes, she asked me several questions. [...] She said she trusted me, including how many vacant places there were on the board to place people", she pointed out, while confessing that she had been "concerned" about some issues.

She recalled that the minister had asked her about the number of people she thought she could let go, which left her with "a bitter taste".

"What I told her was that in the restructuring measures we had reduced management positions; there were no layoffs", she said, having pointed out that the subject was introduced by the minister and her deputy, contrary to what the person responsible for the guardianship said.

Ana Jorge also acknowledged that "there are too many workers and there are too few workers", so her administration opted to "reduce entries and we could only hire if two [workers] left".

"Cuts would have to be thought out and considered", she said, while also noting that "she did not have a restructuring plan that included layoffs". "We delivered a report with all the financial measures, which were sufficient to end the year 2023 with a positive result", she assured.

She asked if I wanted to make my position available or if I wanted to be dismissed. [...] It was decided that none of us would make our position availableWhen asked about possible positions saved for former party members, which could explain the high number of workers, the former provider admitted that "for some years this happened across the board, in all political and party changes".

In a second meeting, on 29 April, "the minister said that the Government had decided to change the entire board". "She asked if I wanted to make my position available or if I wanted to be dismissed. [...] It was decided that none of us would make our position available", she said.

Although she does not believe that there has been political cleansing, Ana Jorge indicated that she does not know what happened in that period of time.

"I don't know exactly what happened between the 12th and 29th. I would like to know, but I don't", she confessed.

It should be recalled that the Santa Casa da Misericórdia was investigated due to suspicions related to investments made abroad. An audit of the institution was carried out, but the board ordered that all operations be concluded. The way in which the provider Ana Jorge conducted this process was the target of several criticisms.

The Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa sent the report on the external audit carried out on Santa Casa Global in Brazil to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Auditors, the institution confirmed to Lusa in February this year.

However, the institution stated that the external audit, carried out by BDO, "has not yet been fully completed, due to difficulties in obtaining administrative and financial documentation relating to subsidiaries" in Brazil.

The following day, the former provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, Edmundo Martinho, accused the institution's current administration of being committed to discrediting and denigrating the previous management, in addition to constructing false narratives about the internationalisation project.

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