The number of people in Portugal without a family doctor has risen again, reaching 1,563,710 by the end of December, according to figures published on the National Health Service (SNS) transparency portal.
The number of users without an assigned family doctor climbed from 1,557,148 in November to December’s figure.
New data also shows how pressure on the system continues to grow, with the number of registered patients increasing from 10,742,542 in November to 10,734,672 in December.
At the same time, the number of patients with an assigned family doctor also edged up, rising from 9,155,634 in November to 9,159,218 by the end of 2025, highlighting a system growing on both sides, but unable to close the gap.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Parliamentary Health Committee, SNS executive director Álvaro Almeida acknowledged the scale of the challenge, saying that even under ideal conditions the system cannot fully meet demand.
“Even if every specialist in General and Family Medicine were working in the SNS, it would still not be possible to assign a family doctor to all registered patients,” he told MPs.
He said the same structural problem affects other specialties, particularly Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
According to the SNS director, keeping all obstetrics and gynaecology emergency units running would require around 1,022,000 hours of medical work per year. “Even if all gynaecologists and obstetricians worked in the SNS, they would only be able to cover around 706,000 hours a year,” he explained.
Questioned by MPs about whether more doctors are leaving the SNS than joining it, Almeida insisted the balance remains positive, pointing to a government order published last week allowing the SNS to hire up to 1,111 retired doctors this year – 41 more than in 2025.
“What the SNS has been doing with retired doctors is allowing them to continue ensuring continuity of care, to avoid gaps in service capacity,” he said, adding that service provision has not fallen and that “the net balance is not negative”.
Source: LUSA
