“Salazar built more hospitals than the PSD Government”

Words by Pedro Pinto during a debate with the Minister of Health, who wants Portugal to evolve into a “true” SNS.

A minister of health defended the evolution towards “a true national health system” in Portugal and claimed that the Portuguese chose the executive to govern and not to “make excuses”.

“The Government’s commitment is precisely this, to continue to reform, correct what is not right, reinforce the SNS as a universal public system that is fairer, more efficient and closer to people and to evolve, once and for all, for a true national health system”, stated Ana Paula Martins in parliament.

In a question to the Government promoted by Livre about the state of the National Health Service (SNS), after two years of governance by the PSD-CDS/PP coalition, the government official said that, despite not devaluing the barometers, she does not confuse “popularity with responsibility”.

“That’s why we didn’t give up, because the Portuguese chose us to govern, not to escape, not to desert, not to find excuses, but to take responsibility for reforms”, highlighted Ana Paula Martins.

Opposition criticism, Salazar

In the same debate, opposition parties accused the Government of having failed to deliver on its promises to resolve the SNS’s problems over the last two years.

Criticisms that the Minister of Health rejected, claiming that the public service is “produce more”. Ana Paula Martins highlighted that it is necessary to look at the “SNS with rigor and truth”, assuring that, currently, this public service “supports more Portuguese people than ever” and is “producing more in a context of greater pressure and increasingly demanding”.

Socialist Susana Correia stated that the “AD promised a more efficient, faster and more accessible SNS” but “the country today has a more fragile, more unstable and more unequal SNS” and accused the Government of governing “between announcements” and not having “a coherent vision for the SNS”. The deputy also argued that “What is really working is what was going on at the time of the PS”.

For IL, Joana Cordeiro said that the government “can no longer continue taking refuge in the socialist heritage”, considering that the problems of access, response and organization of the system “remain far from being resolved”, and defending that her party “does not want to end the public service”, but rather save it with “freedom, transparency and focus on results”.

Fabian Figueiredo, from BE, warned that “the Portuguese are tired of waiting” and argued that the “Government must leave behind fanciful explanations and guarantee health and quality at all times, as promised when it took office”.

In the final stretch of the debate, after the social democrat Miguel Guimarães said that in dictatorships births took place at home and currently the mortality rate of newborns is much lower, Chega’s parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto, stated that “Salazar built more hospitals than the PSD Government” – making a comparison between a period of 36 years and a period of 2 years.

Demanding winter

At the end of the debate, the minister also recognized that the last winter was “particularly demanding” for the SUS, due to the coincidence of a flu peak and episodes of extreme cold, which resulted in a significant increase in pressure in emergencies, intensive care and hospitalizations.

Ana Paula Martins also said that Portugal “was not alone” in mortality in excess during this period, which was the highest in the last 10 years, excluding the years of the covid-19 pandemic, claiming that France, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and Spain went through the same situation.

“Exactly because the winter was very hard for everyone, it created a enormous pressure in all health systems”, said the minister, highlighting that, in this context, there were several adverse events, which required a “quick and coordinated response” between the ministry and the SUS.

The 2025/2026 winter module report, to which Lusa had access, reveals that a period of nine weeks of excess mortality was identified in Portugal, with a total of 4,685 deaths beyond what was expected (until April 8), an excess of 21%.

Furthermore, the number of emergency episodes in hospitals decreased in the winter of 2025/2026, but the weight of truly urgent cases increased (yellow bracelet) and the average length of stay in the emergency room rose again after falling in 2024/2025, the document indicated.

According to the minister, the model of governance of the winter response plan proved to be adequate, ensuring permanent monitoring of timely operational adjustments, adding that the report will be published.

SINACC

About the new National Management System for Access to Consultations and Surgery (SINACC), which will replace the current SIGIC, Ana Paula Martins reaffirmed that “it is ready to start in four months”, the August 1st.

According to the minister, this new system will begin to operate for surgeries, allowing each citizen to follow their journey and know their position on the waiting list.

“When it is not possible to guarantee a response within the appropriate time, the user can be referred to other SUS entities or the social or private sector, always with their consent and with clear equity criteria”, said Ana Paula Martins.