Parliamentary parties reacted to the death of a man in Seixal and asked the Health Minister for explanations. Chega also wants to question the SNS executive director and the president of INEM.
PCP and Chega want to question the Health Minister. BE calls for resignation
Wednesday, 7 January 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
The eight‑minute response‑time standard is the target maximum time INEM sets for emergency medical teams to reach life‑threatening calls, typically in urban areas. INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) uses it as a performance goal, but traffic, narrow roads and long rural distances often make actual response times much longer.
ESPAP is the Shared Services Entity of the Public Administration (Entidade de Serviços Partilhados da Administração Pública). It handles central procurement and other shared services for state bodies, and in this case it awarded a public tender launched last year to buy 275 vehicles for INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) to three economic operators.
ULS Alto Ave is the Alto Ave Local Health Unit (Unidade Local de Saúde do Alto Ave), a public body that runs hospitals and some primary-care services for the Ave area in northern Portugal. It is part of the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde or SNS), and recent staff strikes have affected overtime and complementary work, so residents should check local hospital notices before visiting.
INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica) is Portugal's national emergency medical service, responsible for coordinating and providing pre-hospital emergency care. It operates the country's emergency medical dispatch system, activated through the European emergency number 112.
INEM deploys ambulances (including basic and advanced life support units), medical helicopters (VMER), and motorcycle response units across Portugal. It also manages the CODU (Centro de Orientação de Doentes Urgentes) — the emergency call centers that triage incoming 112 calls and dispatch the appropriate medical response.
INEM has faced persistent challenges including ambulance shortages, staffing gaps (particularly among emergency medical technicians), and long response times in rural areas. These issues have made INEM a frequent subject of political debate, with calls for better funding, improved working conditions, and expanded coverage. Residents should know that calling 112 connects to INEM's triage system, and knowing your exact location speeds up emergency response.
The ULS of the West is the Western Local Health Unit (Unidade Local de Saúde do Oeste), a regional public health body that runs hospitals and primary-care services in the Oeste (West) area as part of the SNS (Serviço Nacional de Saúde). It uses real-time pharmacy data on flu symptoms to adjust emergency teams and resources during outbreaks or other health pressures.
