The President of the Lisbon City Council, Carlos Moedas, demanded from the Government this Friday that the local authority be represented with an executive administrator in the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa and that he himself "indicate someone".

"As the mayor, I demand this Government what I demanded from the previous Government. There is no difference. I demanded from the previous government that the Lisbon City Council be represented with an executive administrator in the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. Why? Exactly because this coordination and articulation is fundamental", said the mayor in statements to journalists, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Unidade de Saúde da Ajuda, which was also attended by the Minister of Health.

"Obviously, I wish the best to this gentleman, who I believe is a highly competent person, but I hope that what I have to be heard here is to be able to indicate someone who will be the person who articulates with the Lisbon City Council, who is an executive administrator who is in the Santa Casa. That's what I ask the Government", he added.

Carlos Moedas admitted that in recent years there were "answers" that "were not being given", namely in the face of the increase in homelessness, something he communicated and had already "pointed out" to the administration of the Santa Casa, which has since been dismissed. 

"We are going to start over, we are going to have a new phase here, I wish the best to the gentleman", he stressed.

When confronted with the fact that the profile of economist Paulo Alexandre Sousa, the next provider, is more focused on the financial aspect and less on the social sector, the President of the Lisbon City Council refused to comment. 

"I will not comment. That is a choice of the Government and of the Prime Minister and of the Minister", he said. 

"What I can tell you is that the profile of the person I will choose to be represented in the Santa Casa is a profile of a person who has these concerns, of the day-to-day, the social concerns, obviously, are those that interest me. As President of the Council, I am concerned with the social area and concerned with the social responses, therefore, I will find someone who makes this bridge and makes this connection with the City Council", he concluded, saying he was "happy". 

It should be recalled that the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security announced yesterday that Paulo Alexandre Sousa will be the next provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, thus replacing Ana Jorge. 

It should be recalled that the administration of the Santa Casa de Lisboa was dismissed on 29 April, with Maria do Rosário Ramalho justifying the decision to dismiss Ana Jorge and her team due to "total inaction" in the face of the financial situation in the institution and for not having a restructuring plan to reverse it, having also accused the dismissed Board of having benefited itself with salary increases.

Ana Jorge took office on 02 May 2023, chosen by the previous socialist Government of António Costa, and inherited an institution with serious financial difficulties, after the years of the pandemic and a process of internationalisation of social games, carried out by the administration of the provider Edmundo Martinho, which may have caused losses in the order of 50 million euros

[News updated at 11:24 am]

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