On the 2 nd of June, Hospital da Luz Lisboa paid tribute to the team of its Continuing and Palliative Care Unit, on the celebration of its 15 years of existence and activity. Led from the beginning by specialist Isabel Galriça Neto , this team includes doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacist, assistants, psychologist, and social worker, among others, and does “ a fantastic job every day ”, as HLL executive director Pedro Lebanon Monteiro said in this tribute. Amid emotional speeches and memories of what these 15 years were like, the message that those responsible for Hospital da Luz Lisboa and Luz Saúde wanted to leave to the Palliative Care Unit team in this tribute was expressed in the phrase of Pedro Líbano Monteiro: “ You have to know that are part of something very special! ” With the presence of the first volunteer of the service, the former journalist and current councilor of the Lisbon City Council, Laurinda Alves, the tribute to Isabel G. Neto's team served as a pretext for the administrator of Luz Saúde, Tomás Branquinho da Fonseca, remember how it all started: “ From the beginning, we had no doubts that palliative care should be part of our project. We had many goals, but the two main ones were to make a difference in the lives of patients and families and to be a reference in health in Portugal ”, he said, adding: “ We achieved that and much more. Today we have new challenges, but we are a clearly successful project and that is due to all of you. So, congratulations to all. This Unit is a source of pride for the hospital and for Grupo Luz Saúde ”. Both the nurse Nélia Trindade, who created this team alongside Isabel Galriça Neto, and the doctor with whom it all started at Hospital da Luz highlighted the commitment, team spirit, dedication to patients and the technical rigor and humanism of all the professionals who over the years have integrated the Palliative Care Unit. “ It is thanks to all of you that we were able to convey this excellence of care, this equity and quality of care and this idea that patients convey to us daily: that they feel safe in the way they are cared for ”, said the nurse at the tribute ceremony to the team. Isabel Galriça Neto began by remembering 'The Little Prince' - " It was the time we dedicated to our rose that made our rose important" - and then said: "Today is a very moving and emotional day and makes It is difficult to choose words well. I believe, however, that we are all here to make a difference in the lives of people who come to us ”. And she continued: “ This is not possible without the committed effort of many people, no one does anything alone. And an occasion like today, which is one of celebration, is really for that: to celebrate the days when we have had remarkable things, like the days when we have difficulties. What is important is to keep the focus on essential values: service to others, competence, rigor, humanity, and Excellence. And it moves me a lot to see that everyone embraces these values and that on a day-to-day basis we really make a difference ”, she stressed. 'Visionary Project' Hospital da Luz Lisboa was the first in the private sector in Portugal to have an inpatient Continuing and Palliative Care Unit (UCCP) , a "visionary" project that now celebrates 15 years. Today, it is still important to reaffirm the need for modern hospitals to have credible answers for this group of chronic patients, and Hospital da Luz was a pioneer in this and other areas. " We are successful because we are committed to helping people from a very vulnerable group to live with quality. What motivates us is to know that this work makes sense, that we make a humanized medicine and, although not directed at healing, scientifically very rigorous, very close to people. I am very proud of the team that was built here. We will continue to innovate and work for excellence ", explains Isabel Galriça Neto, in a special Hospital da Luz Podcast about this Unit, which has already taken care of more than six thousand patients and their families. In the photo from left to right: doctor Isabel Galriça Neto, nurse Nélia Trindade and assistant Ligia Aguiar. All founders of the Unit, 15 years ago.
