PCP defends publicly managed Hospital Central do Algarve and rejects PPP model
The PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) defended the urgent construction of the Algarve Central Hospital (HCA), but rejected the project moving forward through a public-private partnership (PPP), insisting that a fully public model for its construction and management must be guaranteed.
In a statement, the communists recalled that the discussion on the HCA recently returned to the Assembly of the Republic, following the petition “New Central Hospital of the Algarve Now”, which led to the presentation of several draft resolutions by different parties.
Citing its proposal, the PCP emphasizes that “the construction of the Algarve Central Hospital is a structuring project for the Algarve region and an urgent matter for the population and for the health professionals of the NHS”.
The party criticizes the successive postponements of the project, which began to be outlined in 2002, and accuses the PS and PSD of never moving forward with the work, despite both having announced intentions over the years: "The construction process is extensive, with the formation of the first working group for the launch of the new hospital unit in the Algarve in 2002, the project has been ongoing through various PS and PSD/CDS governments... (without ever moving forward)", until "in 2022, the then PS Government approved the opening of the tender process for the construction and equipment of the Algarve Central Hospital in a public-private partnership, whose project team was formed in 2023. Last year, the AD Government announced its intention to build and manage the Algarve Central Hospital in a public-private partnership", the press release reads.
"This is an essential facility for providing healthcare to a large population, which doubles in number during the summer season, with tourists also using NHS health units for healthcare. The PCP considers it urgent to strengthen the National Health Service's response capacity to fulfill the population's right to access timely, quality healthcare," the party states.
However, the PCP rejects the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model, which it considers "ruinous," citing the Via do Infante as an example, "where private interests override those of the Algarve residents, who have spent years paying tolls and are driving on a road with serious maintenance problems." Another example cited by the Communists was the PPP (Public Private Partnership) for the redevelopment of National Road 125, in which "half of the planned work has been completed (with the entire stretch between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António and the Barlavento bypasses still to be completed), and the wait has already exceeded more than a decade. This project is one in which private interests outweigh (in millions of euros and time) the public interest, the interests of the Algarve population, and regional development," they emphasize.
In the vote on the proposals, the PCP voted against the recommendations of the PSD and PAN, abstained on Chega's proposal, and presented its own resolution that "recommends the Government develop the necessary procedures for this process to move forward quickly, guaranteeing a fully public model for its construction and management."
“Yes to the urgent construction of the Algarve Central Hospital with public construction and management, not in PPP,” the party concluded.
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