Sources stress A&E units “working without specialists”
Algarve pediatric A&E departments are in a situation that some doctors “consider to be critical”.
According to sources that spoke with Diário de Notícias (and are now being widely repeated), there are pediatric A&E departments that are identified as “working” on the SNS State health service portal, but which do not have the recommended specialists.
“This is the case of Portimão’s emergency department, where some doctors consider the situation to be critical”.
Picking up on DN’s story, SIC Notícias explains that on the SNS portal, both Portimão and Faro hospital’s pediatric A&Es are listed as “open”. “But hospital sources contacted by Diário de Notícias report that there are situations where the emergency services are working without specialists and in Faro, with only two for all shifts.
“To ensure intensive care, neonatology and obstetrics emergencies, there should be at least eight (specialists per shift).
“For this reason, doctors contacted by the newspaper describe the situation as “very critical” and president of FNAM (the national federation of doctors) Joana Bordalo e Sá adds that “the quality of care for users” is at risk.
None of this is ‘new’ for the health service, especially in the summer. But the implications are too enormous to contemplate.
Last year, a British baby died in what appeared to be a shambolic approach to his health problem. His parents claim they were denied answers – and to this day they feel their son did not receive the correct treatment.
The Portuguese Medical Association recommends eight pediatricians per shift, says SIC, “but doctors complain that in Faro there are only two working in the pediatric emergency room and in Portimão there are many days when there are no specialists at all. Children are attended by agency doctors who are not pediatric specialists”.
The lack of doctors in the Algarve is a recurring situation, but doctors quoted by DN say that the status quo has worsened with the departure of two doctors (who terminated their contracts) and with two more who have stopped doing A&E work because of their age.
“In Portimão, there are days when only one doctor is on the pediatric rota. The doctors, who did not want to be identified, say that Portimão’s emergency rooms are systematically listed on the SNS portal as working, but they don’t have a single pediatrician. Attendance is carried out by freelancers without the speciality”, says SIC.
Health professionals in Portimão and Faro fear that the situation will become even more serious in the height of summer.
According to FNAM – already calling a national strike later this month – there are problems in several pediatric emergency departments across the country, but the situation in Portimão is unique because the lack of specialists is not a one-off. It is systematic, says SIC.
The station ends its report, stressing that anyone taking a child to hospital in an emergency is urged to call the SNS helpline first: 808 24 24 24. ND
Source material: SIC citing Diário de Notícias
