In statements to Lusa about the debate Health Services|50 Years, the Past and the Future, which will take place on Wednesday, Helena Canhão recalls that the population "should only go to the hospital when they have an acute illness, need surgery or hospitalization" and asks for more focus on primary care.

"At this moment, there is also a lack of trust, people think that if they go to a health centre they cannot do the tests that are done, for example, in a hospital, and this is something that scares people", she exemplifies.

Regarding the reform of the Local Health Units (ULS), she argues that a true integration of primary and hospital care is needed, involving municipalities and the social sector. All this, along with other policies on birth rate and social issues: "Poverty is a terrible determinant for everything", she said.

As a good example, she points to Denmark, "which has highly specialized hospitals, not many, but with a huge community network that goes to people's homes to see what is needed, so that it is guaranteed that the patient can be discharged from the hospital and will have support in the community when they return".

"This is much more important, sometimes, for the person's health than giving them an antibiotic when they have a cold", added Helena Canhão, who is also the director of NOVA Medical School.

Still on the reform of the ULS, she warns that there is a risk that the chosen model "will become more hospital-centric, leaving primary health care behind", and recalls that with very heterogeneous ULS, if the funding model is the same, in some cases it is not the most appropriate.

"The units that receive patients with rare diseases, for example, have a different level of expenditure. This patient does not cost the same and, therefore, the form of funding must be well thought out", she said.

The conference Health Services | 50 Years, the Past and the Future will take place on Wednesday, at the future campus of NOVA Medical School, in Carcavelos.

The debate will include the participation of experts to analyse the progress made since the creation of the National Health Service (NHS), in 1979, and to identify strategies for effectiveness and sustainability. The objective is to guarantee universality and equity in access to health care.

Helena Canhão, Carlos Cortes, president of the Ordem dos Médicos, Maria Antónia Almeida Santos, president of the Council of the Faculty of NOVA Medical School and former president of the Parliamentary Health Commission and Luís Campos Pinheiro, head of the Urology Department of the Hospital de São José, are some of the participants.

The meeting is part of the initiatives that precede the Estoril Conferences, which will take place on 24 and 25 October, at the Carcavelos campus of Nova SBE.

Leia Também: Primeira associação portuguesa de apoio exclusivo à IGV chama-se ESCOLHA (Portuguese version)