Sixty-five nurses from the Intensive Care Medicine Service at Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital submitted a formal request for exemption from responsibility to the President of the SESARAM, EPERAM Board of Directors today. The move comes in response to critical staffing shortages, the excessive reliance on overtime, and a lack of qualified professionals.

According to the nursing staff, the situation has surpassed “acceptable limits,” signaling a new and serious crisis within the department.

Concerns Over Patient and Professional Safety

ITC staff report that current conditions have reached a level of severity that is incompatible with the principles of patient safety, the quality of health care, and the protection of the health and dignity of professionals.

In a document presented to the SESARAM administration, the nurses outlined several key proposals and demands to address these systemic failures, including:

• A formal evaluation of service operating conditions and nursing staffing levels.
• A reduction in the reliance on overtime work.
• The strengthening of the core clinical team.
• Strict enforcement of mandatory rest periods between shifts.
• An official intervention by the Order of Nurses to assess professional practice conditions.

The nurses emphasise that overtime, intended to be an exceptional measure, has become a structural practice. This shift has negatively impacted their personal lives, increased professional exhaustion, and elevated the risk of clinical errors.

Political Response

The Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP) party, which first shared the news, characterised the nurses’ stance as “legitimate.” JPP Secretary General Élvio Sousa sharply criticized the Regional Government, accusing it of incompetence in managing the regional health service and failing to provide professional, sustainable solutions. Sousa further alleged that the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, remains detached from the reality of the crisis, choosing to undervalue the importance of investing in human resources.

The use of the “exemption from responsibility” instrument is not unique to this department; it is a measure increasingly employed during periods of high pressure on the health system when safety is compromised.

Similar actions have been taken in Madeira previously, most notably by nurses in the Accident and Emergency Department of the same hospital in January of this year, as well as during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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