According to an order published in the Official Journal, the commission will assess and debate the hospital administration’s proposed functional programme. Alongside Maurício, the body will include HDES’s president and clinical director, Paula Macedo, nurse director Pedro Brázio, representatives from the regional infrastructure and finance departments, and a member of the regional health directorate.

Professional associations will also be represented, with the regional heads of the Medical and Nursing Orders, Carlos Ponte and Pedro Soares, joining the group. The commission has been established as a temporary mission structure with a defined mandate.

In May, HDES’s administration revealed it had commissioned two separate consultancy firms—Aripa – Ilídio Pelicano Arquitetos and Antares Consulting—to produce alternative functional plans for the hospital’s future. These proposals have since been reviewed by department heads within the hospital, who recommended modifications now to be considered by the commission.

Both reports reportedly agree on several key points: strengthening HDES’s academic role by giving it a university profile, upgrading infrastructure, outsourcing some services, and modernising critical departments such as emergency care, intensive care, and surgical theatres.

The government decree specifies that the presidency of the commission should be held by “an individual of recognised merit in the health sector.” Maurício, who has worked at HDES since 2011, is a senior rheumatology consultant and former head of the department. He also serves at CUF Hospital and is currently president of the PSD’s São Miguel political commission.

HDES, the largest hospital in the Azores, was evacuated on 4 May 2024 after a fire forced the transfer of patients across the archipelago, Madeira, and mainland Portugal. Services have since reopened gradually, with a modular hospital installed next to the main building, pending full restoration and modernisation works.