O South Zone Doctors Union (SMZS) considers that the situation experienced in the emergency department of Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando da Fonseca (Amadora-Sintra), on the night of Friday to Saturday, “returned to jeopardize the safety of patients, doctors and healthcare professionals“.
The South Zone Doctors’ Union revealed this Tuesday that the “critical situation” experienced in the emergency room at Amadora-Sintra Hospital from Friday to Saturday led to the dismissal of the head and deputy head of the General Emergency team.
The president of ULS Amadora-Sintra resigned at the beginning of November, following a case involving the death of a pregnant woman, and has not yet been replaced.
In the note, the SMZS considers that the problems in Amadora-Sintra “are neither an inevitability nor an accident”, but rather “the result of a progressive and intentional degradation of the SNS“, promoted by “Government inaction”, which “creates the conditions to justify the transfer of care to private groups”.
Security “put into question”, team “manifestly insufficient”
Regarding the night from Friday to Saturday, the SMZS considers that the situation experienced in the emergency department of Hospital Prof. Doctor Fernando da Fonseca (Amadora-Sintra) “returned to jeopardize the safety of patients, doctors and healthcare professionals“.
The union states that the scheduled medical team “was clearly insufficient for the size of the existing influx and clinical severity” and explains that, until 00:00 on Friday (2 January), the roster included a team leader, four doctors in the observation service and two doctors in the outpatient area, but from that time on, and until 08:00 on Saturday, “only one doctor remained for all patients in the outpatient area”.
“An absolutely unacceptable situation from a clinical and organizational point of view”, considers the union, remembering that, at the beginning of the night, there were 179 patients in the emergency department, with more than 60 patients admitted to the observation service.
As revealed, the Waiting times reached “unacceptable levels”with patients triaged as orange (very urgent) waiting more than six hours for the first medical observation and patients with a yellow bracelet (urgent) waiting for more than 20 hours.
“This was not an unforeseen failure, but rather on a previously defined scale, without any measures having been taken to prevent or correct an announced situation, even in the context of a seasonal flu peak”, considers the union, which says that this case denotes a “serious management incapacity” and disrespect for professionals and users.
At 1pm today, according to the SNS portal, patients with an orange bracelet (very urgent) waiting at the Amadora-Sintra central emergency department had to wait more than 11 hours and 47 minutes for their first medical observation. Urgent users (yellow bracelet) waited 10 hours and 53 minutes.
In the note, the union expresses solidarity with all doctors and other professionals who work in Amadora-Sintra and remembers that the responsibility “is not just local”, pointing the finger at the Government and the Minister of Health, for failing to adopt effective measures to retain doctors in the .
“The announcement of reinforcement of HFF teams [Hospital Fernando da Fonseca] by the Executive Committee of the SNS also does not seem to produce visible effects”, says the union, adding: “Without listening to doctors and without responding to their needs there are no miracles”.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, on the sidelines of a visit to the Figueira da Foz District Hospital, headquarters of the Baixo Mondego Local Health Unit, the Minister of Health acknowledged that the Waiting times in emergency rooms are “very critical” and it should not improve during this week, particularly in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, the Minister of Health said today.
