A source from the Executive Board of the National Health Service (DE-SNS) told Lusa that Fernando Araújo had a meeting at the end of the afternoon with representatives from the Ministry of Health, without confirming whether the meeting was to deliver the activity report that was requested by the Government within a 60-day period. On 8 May, the same source said that the report in question should be "completed by the end of this month", before the two-month period that had been set by the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins. When he handed in his resignation, along with his team, the doctor Fernando Araújo requested that his departure from DE-SNS take effect the day after the delivery of the document that had been previously requested by the Ministry of Health, which was accepted. Fernando Araújo claimed that he had learned about the request to prepare the report by email and "at the same time that it was released in the media". "We did not shy away from presenting the requested document, which we have already started to prepare, particularly because we believe that it is not only a responsibility, but also a duty, to present the results of the work carried out so that it can be scrutinised, something that is healthy in public life", the doctor said on the day that he announced his resignation. In the statement that confirmed that the minister had accepted the resignation submitted, the office of Ana Paula Martins also stated that "it was agreed that the end of the term would take effect with the delivery of this report within a period of approximately 60 days". Fernando Araújo justified the "difficult decision" to resign to allow the Government to "implement the policies and measures that it deems necessary, with the required speed, preventing the current executive board from being considered an obstacle to its implementation". The resignation of DE-SNS prompted a request from the PS parliamentary bench for Fernando Araújo to be heard by the Health Committee, which will happen on Wednesday morning. "We are clearly facing a critical moment that needs to be clarified and explored. The PS Parliamentary Group believes it is important to know and understand specifically the reasons that led to the resignation of Fernando Araújo and what it means for the Government's intentions regarding the ongoing reform" of the National Health Service, the socialists claimed. The executive board began its activity on 1 January 2023, following the new Statute of the National Health Service (SNS) proposed by the then minister Marta Temido, with the aim of coordinating the healthcare response of all SNS units and modernising its management. Read Also: Hearings of the SNS executive director and the minister approved (Portuguese version)