Patients triaged as urgent at Matosinhos Hospital in northern Portugal were waiting more than 12 hours earlier today (December 26) for an initial medical assessment in the general accident and emergency department, according to data from the National Health Service (SNS) website.
Information available at 8.30am indicated that the Pedro Hispano Hospital in Matosinhos had seven patients classified as urgent (yellow wristband) waiting for their first examination. There was also one patient triaged as very urgent (orange wristband) who was expected to have to wait an average of around 12 hours, when the recommended time is 10 minutes after triage.
At Amadora-Sintra Hospital, in the Lisbon district, where on Christmas Day the average waiting time for urgent patients exceeded 11 hours, 10 patients were today having to wait almost four hours. There were also five people classified as “very urgent” and the time for initial assessment was 50 minutes.
At the Vila Franca de Xira hospital, also in the Lisbon district, 12 patients with yellow wristbands (urgent) had been waiting almost five hours for their first examination, almost the same waiting time as the accident and emergency department at the northern Braga hospital (4.57am). In Portimão, in the Algarve region, urgent patients had been waiting just over four hours.
Patients classified as urgent at the Espírito Santo Hospital in Évora, in the Alentejo region, had to wait even longer. The nine who were there at 8.30am had been waiting almost seven hours for their first examination.
At Garcia de Orta (Almada, Lisbon district), the waiting time for the first examination of patients with yellow wristbands was almost three hours, identical to the time that the 20 patients with yellow wristbands in the accident and emergency department at Barreiro Hospital (Lisbon district) had to wait.
At Santa Maria (Lisbon), the waiting time for urgent patients was around two hours, the same as at Beatriz-Ângelo, in Loures (Lisbon district).
According to the triage system, very urgent situations (orange wristband) have a recommended waiting time of 10 minutes after triage, while urgent cases (yellow) should not wait more than 60 minutes. For less urgent cases (green wristband), the recommended time is 120 minutes.
Health authorities are appealing to the population to contact the health service SNS24-hour helpline (808 24 24 24) for guidance before going to an accident and emergency department.
Source: Lusa
