Madeiran doctor Rafael Macedo, who recently ceased his duties as health delegate of the municipality of Vila do Porto, on the island of Santa Maria, in the Azores, has caused controversy after having released, on his Facebook page, images of a foetus found in a local rubbish dump, according to the news agency Correio da Manhã.
The media outlet DIÁRIO understands that the doctor justifies his decision as an act of denunciation against what he considers to be negligent management of waste and refrigerated cabinets, as well as the “inertia” of the Azorean Social Communication.
The case dates back to the discovery of a foetus that, according to the provisional results of the autopsy, was stillborn in an alleged miscarriage, and was allegedly placed in a rubbish bin by its mother.
Rafael Macedo, who currently works as an emergency doctor hired by the Health Unit of Santa Maria Island, explains that he was called to assist the current health delegate, who has logistical limitations due to his age and, according to the Madeiran, “has some difficulty in using technology, including uploading images for the Judicial Police and in the issuance of death certificates.”
According to the doctor, the publication of the images, which occurred eight days after the incident, was not intended as self-promotion, but rather to alert the company operating the island’s waste management.
The Madeiran doctor claims that access to the areas where the body was deposited is poorly controlled, leaving it open to others doing the same. The clinician says that he was already coming to follow up on irregularities within the company, including complaints of exhausted workers and lack of safety conditions.
Graduating from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto and specialising in Nuclear Medicine, Charl Rafael Macedo Silva was appointed health delegate of the municipality of Vila do Porto in December 2025. On 24 February, he was removed from this role. He subsequently works at the island’s emergency hospital.
In July last year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office shelved the investigation targeting Rafael Macedo da Silva, a specialist in Nuclear Medicine, who in 2019 gained notoriety after complaints of alleged irregularities in the Health Service of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (SESARAM). The case led, at the time, to a parliamentary commission of inquiry in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, the opening of three disciplinary proceedings in the Disciplinary Council of the South of the Order of Doctors, as well as an internal disciplinary process in SESARAM that culminated in his suspension and subsequent dismissal for cause, allegedly due to the seriousness of the accusations and the disclosure of confidential information without substantial evidence.
Although he is aware that he can be charged with desecration of a corpse, Rafael Macedo remains undaunted.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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