Brava: Coast Guard Detachment is a structuring solution with a very clear mission – PM

The Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, said today, in Nova Sintra, that the placement of a Coast Guard detachment in Brava is a “structuring solution” and that it has a “very clear” mission.

The head of government was speaking to the press after a visit to the detachment this Tuesday morning, showing that this morning the boat "Ilhéu dos Pássaros" left for its first operation, transferring patients from the island of Brava to the Hospital of São Filipe on the island of Fogo.

According to the same source, this detachment is to cover the Fogo e Brava region, not only in emergency medical operations, but also in maritime surveillance, search and rescue and all operations that fall within the framework of the Coast Guard mission in terms of surveillance and maritime security.

Ulisses Correia e Silva guaranteed that this is an effective solution, not being here with days or months counted, but rather to “guarantee the safety” of the population, with a boat that will always be available for any eventuality.

For his part, the mayor of Brava, Francisco Tavares, considered that today is a remarkable day in the history of Brava, emphasizing that it is not always that one sees a situation resolved and equated solutions for another, on the island.

In this sense, he highlighted and recognized the commitment of the Minister of Defense and Territorial Cohesion, Janine Lélis, who was also on the island and who “did everything so that on this day the Coast Guard military detachment on Brava was inaugurated”, which in addition to inspection missions, will also bring about “major changes” in the matter of medical transfers from Brava to the island of Fogo.

Likewise, the mayor took the opportunity to thank Vasconcelos Lopes Lda, a Brave citizen residing in São Vicente, who, according to him, from the outset made one of his dwellings in Brava available to be the home of this Military Unit.

Brava natives also welcomed this deployment, not only the residents, but also the emigrant community, as in the case of João Delgado, a Brava native, resident in the USA, who considered this step “very important”, reinforcing that Brava “was experiencing moments of a lot of pressure” without a vessel to help the sick, having remembered the case of Djony, which left everyone sad.

However, he says he hopes that the solution will be effective, for when there is an emergency where it is necessary to transfer patients that is carried out without the need to wait for another boat to move from Fogo or wherever it is, thus reducing the waiting time.

Especially because, he stressed that many emigrants do not want to come and visit the island for fear of not having a hospital with all the conditions on Brava and not even a boat that guarantees that the transfer to Hospital do Fogo is immediate.

Pedro Lomba Morais, from Brave, doctor, said that almost all of his professional life has been spent on the island and that having a boat in the port of Furna in an effective way is “a satisfaction”.

Because, as a doctor, he indicated that he was always critical in the matter of having a boat in the port just to spend the night, because, as he explained, it is necessary to have a permanent boat, yes, taking into account that there is no other means of leaving the island and the emergency there is no time or day for it to happen.

With the vessel in port to ensure the transfer of patients from Brava to Fogo, Pedro Lomba Morais said that he is now waiting for another solution at national level, which is the National Emergency Service with a helicopter to cover all the islands in the country.

During the visit, the chief executive was accompanied by the Minister of State and National Defence, Janine Lélis, where they visited the Coast Guard military detachment, in the city of Nova Sintra, but the visit to the Coast Guard Naval Unit, in the port of Furna was canceled because the Coast Guard vessel was traveling to Fogo Island to transfer patients.

The ship arrived on the island last Sunday and today made its first trip on one of its missions for which it was posted to Brava.

Inforpress/End