Even with the contingency plan activated in some hospitals in the country, waiting times remain well above recommended levels, especially in Greater São Paulo. Outside the capital, it is in Portimão that the situation is more difficult.
The morning was difficult for those who needed to go to the emergency room at Hospital Amadora-Sintra, in Lisbon. The waiting time for patients with a yellow bracelet exceeded 14 hours.
Around lunch time, it was around 8 o’clock. Less time waiting to be seen by a doctor, but much more than recommended.
To be able to provide assistance, the hospital had already reorganized the surgery calendar and freed up more than 30 beds for the medical clinic and intensive care.
In the last few days. The pressure increases, at a time when there are more respiratory infections and more patients in more complex clinical situations.
Beatriz Ângelo can handle pressure
At Santa Maria, the largest hospital in the country, the situation appears to be more under control, but the waiting time remains above what is recommended. It is more than seven hours in the case of an urgent patient.
The establishment has already increased the number of beds, but continues without activating the contingency plan. He says he will only do it if necessary.
A much calmer situation exists at the Beatriz Ângelo hospital, in Loures, where the average waiting time does not exceed three hours.
Portimão with more than 10 hours of waiting
Outside the Lisbon region, it is in Portimão that the situation is more difficult. More than 10 hours: this is how long an urgent patient has to wait.
Experts say that the peak of the flu has not yet arrived and warn that the situation could worsen in the coming days.
Given the scenario, the warning is the same as always: for users not to go to the emergency room without first contacting the SNS24 line.
There are emergency services that do not open at all: this is the case of the pediatric emergency at Hospital do Barreiro, which is closed this Wednesday and Thursday. The lack of doctors to fill the rosters is one of the reasons.
