A group of users, family members and concerned citizens from the Autonomous Region of Madeira has issued an open letter warning of what it describes as an “extreme seriousness and humanitarian urgency” in the Non-Urgent Patient Transport Service run by the Regional Health Service of Madeira (SESARAM, EPE). The signatories accuse the service of operational collapse, negligence and harmful management that is affecting some of the Region’s most vulnerable residents. They say there has been a large-scale cancellation of transport for patients with reduced or no mobility, including amputees and bedridden individuals, which has prevented access to essential appointments and rehabilitation. The letter also claims that patients medically cleared for discharge are being kept in hospital longer because the service cannot move them out efficiently, adding pressure to emergency departments and inpatient wards. According to the statement, the problems stem from an ageing vehicle fleet and a lack of staff, with half of SESARAM’s public fleet of ambulances and vans said to be out of service and no new ambulance crews recruited for approximately six years. The group also alleges that the decline is being allowed to continue in order to increase reliance on private providers such as Madeira Health Care, while taxis are being used for transport despite being unsuitable for bedridden patients or those with major mobility restrictions. The complaint has been sent to political parties represented in both the Regional Legislative Assembly and the Portuguese Parliament, as well as to SESARAM, the Clinical Directorate, the Office of the Regional Secretary for Health and Civil Protection, the Office of the Regional Secretariat for Inclusion, Labour and Youth, and the competent judicial authorities, and the group is demanding immediate supervisory action from the Regional Government and SESARAM.
