Gaia invests in health centres: eight refurbishments and Carvalhos Health Centre for €6 million

Rehabilitation schemes are being added to by the construction of a new unit in Carvalhos, costing the council €6 million.

Gaia health centres: eight refurbishments backed by the council and PRR

Refurbishment works are under way at eight health centres in Gaia, budgeted at around €3 million. All of the projects are being paid for by the council and co-financed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). Alongside this package, the Carvalhos Health Centre is set to be built, with completion planned for January and a €6 million bill for the municipality.

Among the refurbishment projects, the largest single outlay is for the Soares dos Reis Health Centre, at €900 thousand. The remaining interventions are at Arcozelo (€346 thousand), Avintes (€110 thousand), Barão do Corvo (€96 thousand), Valadares Boa Nova (€530 thousand), Canidelo (€530 thousand), Sandim (€300 thousand) and Olival (€100 thousand).

Carvalhos Health Centre: €6 million build and tight schedule

For the Carvalhos Health Centre, the council will cover construction costs of €6 million because "it was not possible to meet the PRR deadlines". A further €5 million is being added for accessibility works. With the aim of having everything ready in January next year, the deputy mayor acknowledges "a race against time". The detailed design is currently being prepared so that the tender can then be launched.

Criticism

Gaia’s deputy mayor, Firmino Pereira, says the aim is to "improve conditions for patients and professionals". He argues that the agreement reached by the previous PS-led administration, arising from decentralisation and the delegation of powers, was "bad", because the State transferred the buildings to the municipality but in "poor condition".

Grijó and Crestuma

The councillor notes that, in "six months in office", the executive’s effort is already visible, and points to two additional investments: building a health centre in Grijó and refurbishing the existing one in Crestuma. For Grijó, the project is being prepared so the tender can be launched by September, with spending estimated at €4 million, while the process for the works in Crestuma is also being prepared.