“For almost 400 days, the Regional Government has not paid taxi drivers who transport non-urgent patients on behalf of the Regional Health Service of the Region (SESARAM)”.
A situation that was denounced by Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP) in July and that is now once again “described by taxi professionals” as “intolerable”, a Government “deadbeat like we have never seen”.
The party also states that, since December 2023, taxi drivers have not received payment for a service that is provided under a protocol established between the associations representing taxi drivers and SESARAM.
“This is yet another piece of evidence that the JPP has been collecting about the successive lies of Miguel Albuquerque, the PDS and its deputies, and also the CDS, who deny the issue of not having an approved budget”, says the JPP secretary general, Élvio Sousa.
“As can be seen, even when the budget was approved, Albuquerque did not pay what he owes to professionals who provide an important service to those who are weakened by health. These professionals are the ones who support, with their own work and expenses, a service that is an obligation of the Regional Government. Therefore, the People must be aware of these lies that are repeated by Miguel Albuquerque without any contradiction from the media, just to obtain easy votes and shake off all the responsibility that he and the PSD have for the serious crisis that Madeira is experiencing”, he indicates.
The JPP recalls that “a breach of protocol” by SESARAM could “put at risk” the transport service for non-urgent patients and warns of the fact that “many of these people receive pensions and low incomes”, a situation that, combined with the breakdowns in SESARAM vehicles, could “further complicate the already difficult lives of those who are sick”.