Despite having only six years of existence, “we started to realize we needed more space”, explains Filipe Vieira, executive director of the Hospital de Loule, in an interview to the “windward”. “We will deepen the areas which already have in operation and consolidate some facilities scientific / technical premium, a top of the range, such as oncology, outpatient surgery, minimally invasive surgery, services and much differentiated in the area of cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation, all with high technology,” he explains. For this, they acquired the former Convent of Grace, at the rear of the main building, also a heritage property and affective of the city.
“it Is a huge building, with 2500 square meters of covered area. It will be a very interesting challenge, to get cabimentar and create a technological very different and, at the same time, trying to preserve the beauty of this monument. We will have the facade of the SEVENTEENTH-century on the outside and a functional program of the XXI century in the interior” describes. Currently, “the building is very run down. Suffered almost total destruction in the earthquake of 1755. Passed through several hands, and lately belonged to a family who was not helpful at all. We have found that for us it was strategic, and we were also sensitive to the historical beauty and the representation that this building has in the city”, he underlines.
“There’s a point, based on the administration of the Hospital de Loule which is the maintenance of the built heritage and the social fabric, whether of the old Hospital of Mercy, both from the Convent of Grace. We have a great pride in this array and all of the functional program that will be developed will comply with both,” says the manager. Between the equipment and the purchase of the property, the budget is around 4 million euros and the unit should be ready to work here for two years. For now, it is an investment pure and hard” of the Hospital de Loulé.
Today, between health care professionals and employees, employs 350 people. The new unit will have to hire between 100 to 150 health professionals. The fixing of doctors has been the Achilles ‘ heel of the region, a problem about which Filipe Vieira has an opinion. “I think that the Algarve has always been a difficulty in securing the elites. The elites entrench themselves when they feel that they have the capability to produce their work and when they are received. The elite want to practice your art, you want to carry out their tasks and must have the conditions. At this time, the Algarve was very, very peripheral, has been making an effort. We have factors that help us – the quality of life, the climate, the natural beauty – and now we have to find challenges to which the elites settle, develop your work and research. And that, in the future, we may be at the level of other regions such as Coimbra or Porto. We have the potential to do this and this is the challe nge that we have put up with this new unit.”
Accessibility is the big challenge
“The daily mobility of more than 500 clients in need of health care have to be very acautelada and flows must be well checked and give security to people who visit us to receive treatment. This zone requires a reformulation of the flows of people and vehicles. We, in fact, along with the municipality and with the official bodies, we have here an equation that must be solved, which is able to allocate this many people in the city centre. I think that the creation of this new unit not only brings a lot of people to live here in Loulé, but also brings an experience fantastic. We can all re-consider an integrated solution” efficiently and hassle free. “The accessibility are the fundamental and the Municipal council of Loulé has been sensitive,” says Filipe Vieira, executive director of the Hospital de Loulé.
“the Public and the private should not be your back”
The work six years ago, the Hospital de Loulé today about 350 to 400 queries daily, between the scheduled that involve a team of 100 specialists, and the permanent care, available 24 hours, whose affluence “depends somewhat on the time of year or epidemics”. “We have a lot of attention to the average time of waiting, because it makes a difference. In addition, we do about 250 surgeries per month,” says Filipe Vieira. “We would like to have more relation with the public sector that we have. I’m of the opinion that we should be complementary. That is, the public and the private should not be back. The Status of the National Health Service predicts that there is a complementarity, and it is this goal that leads us to develop our activity. Must be broken a few dogmas. Public-and private-must work opposite each other, co-operate with transparent rules. We have some conventions with the public sector and that is how we look at health in this region i s quite lacking. This complementarity is absolutely necessary and salutary”, he underlines.
Municipality of Loulé acarinha the project
The future of the healthcare unit of high-technology “obtained the affection and the commitment of the municipality of Loulé, which has been, since the time of the acquisition of the convent, a strategic partner. Has been shown to be available to help in the process, because it quickly realized that it is an asset too large for the city,” says Filipe Vieira, executive director of the Hospital de Loulé. In the visit made to the work most emblematic of the rehabilitation of the cultural-historical heritage in the course of Loulé, on Wednesday, February 1, the responsible of the municipality, accompanied by the technical municipal passed by the Largo Tenente Cabeçadas, where the Convent of the Grace, which is classified as a National Monument. The municipal intervention in this space, “which is a testimony to the rare of the medieval architecture medicante in the Algarve”, he passed through the Portal recovery and requalification of the interior space of t he old church. The works have a cost of 70 thousand euros.
University Hospital in the Algarve is “welcome”
“Only encounter advantages,” in the creation of a University Hospital in the Algarve, guarantees Filipe Vieira, executive director of the Hospital de Loulé. “We find it’s a great idea, because it brings know-how, brings professionals to the region and we’re very focused on trying to find partnerships, ties interconnecting with the University. We want to be partners in research and in the development of good clinical practice. We very much welcome the creation of a unit that is a reference in the region, such as a university hospital”.
private Hospitals have brought “more security” to the region
“The reason for our success also has to do with the way we implemented together with the foreign community. This was the first to discover our hospital, you have been well treated, and loyalty. Feel as if you were at home. Without want to pull the grill our sardines, I am sure that the private hospitals have contributed greatly to the fixing of foreign nationals in the Algarve, at a certain time of life in which these people felt some insecurity. Today have here, your doctors, your specialists in various areas. Because we have a clinical environment of safety that did not exist before,” concludes Filipe Vieira.
