"The Regional Government obviously has a very important role, but I want to call on the solidarity of the central government in various aspects, from human resources, technical support, to absolutely essential budgetary support", said the president of the Medical Association (OM), in Ponta Delgada.

Carlos Cortes was speaking after meeting with the president of the Azorean Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), José Manuel Bolieiro, at the end of a two-day trip to the island of São Miguel, following the fire that broke out on Saturday at the largest hospital in the Azores and which forced its evacuation.

He said that after the initial phase of immediate response to users, an "other moment" has now begun, which is important for health care, which involves "preparing a solution so that patients can continue to receive quality health care".

Carlos Cortes added that his visit allowed him to see that "things are being well organised" and expressed his willingness to collaborate with regional entities with technical and institutional support from the OM, following an invitation from the President of the Government.

"We cannot forget that this is a crisis, a difficult situation, which requires absolutely exceptional measures that necessarily compromise the Regional Government of the Azores, but which must also compromise the central government", he warned.

The president also acknowledged that a "difficult effort" will be needed to rebuild and improve the Ponta Delgada hospital, in order to "once again achieve the capacity of the Azores in a hospital with very important end-of-the-line characteristics".

"We will do everything to overcome this situation. I will also convey this message to the Minister of Health and to the President of the Republic", assured the head of the OM.

After the hearing, José Manuel Bolieiro praised the attitude of the president, who showed "he is ready to help" in this process of planning the future of the hospital, which will be "undergoing rehabilitation work", but also in the subsequent phase of its expansion and modernisation.

"All of this implies an unexpected expense", stressed the head of the Azorean executive, who believes that the contribution of the country and of the European Union itself is necessary in a volume "sufficient for the dimension of the seriousness" that resulted from the fire.

José Manuel Bolieiro also considered it a concern and a priority to concentrate the teams of health professionals, currently dispersed across various units, in order to "demand less effort" from them in this new phase.

Regarding the installation of a field hospital by the Armed Forces in Ponta Delgada, the President of the Government said that this "is not excluded".

"We are not going to rush into projecting resources without first having defined the coherence and which are the most appropriate resources, where the surgical component has special sensitivity", he said.

The president of the doctors also visited the Red Cross advanced medical post today, which is already installed in a school in Ponta Delgada, and which consists of 12 tents, ensuring the operation of a complete infirmary.

According to the Red Cross, an installed capacity is planned, in this first phase, to accommodate 30 patients and another four in isolation.

The delivery of another ten tents from the mainland, which will remain in the region after this operation, will allow the number of patients to be doubled to 60.

The fire at the Ponta Delgada hospital, which broke out at 09:40 local time on Saturday (10:40 in Lisbon) and was only declared extinguished at 16:11, forced the transfer of 240 patients who were hospitalised to various locations in the Azores, Madeira and the mainland.

The Government of the Azores declared a state of public calamity on Sunday to "accelerate procedures" that will allow the activity of the largest Azorean health unit to be normalised in a "short space of time", a resolution that was published today in the Official Gazette.

The clinical directorate announced on Wednesday that the hospital will be reactivated slowly, with the oncology and haemodialysis units expected to resume activity in a phased manner next week.

An accounting of the damage caused by the fire has not yet been released.

Read Also: Created working group to assess damage to Ponta Delgada hospital (Portuguese version)