262. Region supports universal

Portugal advances with dental checks

but the autonomous region of Madeira think so not fair

* * *

The Government of the Republic, yesterday launch a new program that provides for the allocation of dental checks for pregnant and elderly. The program provides annual ceilings of 120 euros for pregnant women followed in the National Health Service and 80 euros for the elderly beneficiaries of the solidarity supplement.

The Region will not follow this policy and the regional secretary for Social Affairs explains why. "Our support is a universal form, are the people that group are. Need not be pregnant or elderly. Just having financial difficulties and that the evidence in the social security services," said Francisco Jardim Ramos, which exemplified by saying that 'there may be pregnant women whose family income does not need such support, as there are women that are pregnant, have more financial difficulties. " Moreover, the regional secretary for Social Affairs pointed out what has been done in Madeira, the level of the regional health plan, which bet on the preventive (with full coverage of all children in the region) and in the healing , which currently functions in health centers of Bom Jesus, Porto Santo and Porto Moniz.

With regard to oral health preventive Francisco Jardim Ramos stressed that in this last year, Funchal have come to be covered by this project, which already covers 16 thousand and 333 children. Only in this county, three thousand and 840 children, those who were covered by the initiative to visit schools and presenting an innovation: "The school equipment includes brush and toothpaste. Children are forced to take to school these two objects of hygiene".

With regard to the curative, Jardim Ramos has no specific dates but ensures that the purpose in the future, is to extend it to a larger number of health centers in the region. "The goal is to do with the users to go deal with their teeth in a larger number of health centers to cover the pass well to be full ', outlines the regional secretary for Social Affairs.

Jornal da Madeira

* * *

How is it possible within the same country there are two separate guidelines on oral health policy? It is more that since the oral health of the Portuguese should be purely and simply for political choices, since there is no lack of resources.

While so, the children will be disinherited of fortune, the old, poor and disadvantaged luck executioners of health policies of the regime? There are billions of euros to invest (megalomaniac projects like transport of high-speed TGV - Trans Grand Vitesse, or a new airport in the region of Lisbon), the politicians continue to do the make-believe about the health of most Portuguese.

No longer sufficient unemployment, poverty and hunger that affects so many like to pretend that there are health problems in the country. Unfortunately, there is the powerful politicians benefited from the April 25, 1974 that has to confront this reality.