Latest news and stories about healthcare in infrastructure in Algarve, Portugal for expats and residents.
An IT system error caused significantly inflated emergency waiting times to be displayed for Faro and Portimão hospitals, a claim denied by the ULS Algarve health authority.
Patients at Portimão Hospital faced 16-hour wait times in the emergency department, a situation attributed to a critical shortage of temporary medical staff in the Algarve region.
Algarve hospitals are experiencing significant stretcher retention issues caused by beds being occupied by patients lacking social support, which in turn compromises emergency response times.
A public procurement process has been launched to build the new Central Hospital of the Algarve in Parque da Cidades, adjacent to the Algarve Stadium. The competitive tender marks a major step towards expanding regional healthcare capacity and modernising medical infrastructure. Located in a strategic urban area, the project is likely to strengthen access to a wider range of medical services for local residents and the expatriate community, attract investment and create construction and long-term healthcare jobs. Key issues to monitor include the procurement timeline, budget and financing structure, service mix and potential impacts on existing facilities and regional healthcare planning.
The Portuguese government approved construction of the new Central Hospital of the Algarve with a maximum budget of €426.6 million spread over 27 years and an annual cap of €50 million. Operations are expected to begin in 2031. The financing structure signals a long-term public investment approach with potential fiscal and timeline risks to monitor, while promising a significant upgrade to regional healthcare infrastructure.
The Clinical Directorate of the Algarve Local Health Unit told CM that there had been a peak in attendances.
Waiting times at the Faro and Portimão emergency departments published on Saturday by the National Health Service Portal were incorrect.
In Portimão, the system indicated a waiting time of 17 hours for a patient classified as 'very urgent'.
The Algarve Local Health Unit attributed the figures to errors in the computer system. During the morning, the hospitals in Faro and Portimão showed waiting times that 'were not true'.
At Portimão Hospital, patients considered urgent were also waiting 4 hours and 13 minutes to be examined by a doctor for the first time.
On Saturday, August 15, urgent patients at Faro Hospital in the Algarve faced a wait time of nearly 16 hours for their first medical consultation, according to the National Health Service (SNS) portal. Data at midday showed an average wait of 15 hours and 52 minutes for urgent cases in Faro. At Portimão Hospital, also in the Algarve, the wait for urgent patients was 4 hours and 13 minutes. Most other hospitals in the country reported average wait times of under two hours. At the Hospital de Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Barreiro, urgent patients waited 2 hours and 16 minutes, while non-urgent cases faced an average wait of 18 hours and 10 minutes. Data for Amadora-Sintra and Sintra hospitals were unavailable. Under the triage system, very urgent cases (orange) should be seen within 10 minutes, urgent cases (yellow) within 60 minutes, and non-urgent cases (green) within 120 minutes. Emergency wait times are rising again, with some exceeding 11 hours, and are expected to worsen next week.
Similar to what happened on Friday, waiting times remained high this Saturday in several emergency departments of the NHS hospitals.
Similar to what happened on Friday, waiting times continue to be high this Saturday in several emergency departments of the National Health Service (SNS) hospitals.
Waiting times at the Portimão emergency department reached 17 hours following 'unscheduled adjustments' with the Lagos emergency services. The Southern Zone Doctors' Union is calling for 'concrete measures'.
The head of the Algarve Local Health Unit (ULS Algarve) has acknowledged that ambulances are sometimes delayed outside the region’s hospitals while patients are handed over to emergency departments, even The post ULS Algarve admits ambulance delays; minister says reports are “absolutely false” appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Emergency services wait several hours for the return of stretchers. The Minister of Health says there is no shortage of stretchers.
President of the Algarve Firefighters Federation, Steven Sousa Piedade, admits that emergency services may be at risk. Firefighters are requesting more stretchers and responses from the authorities to address the problem.
FENPROF was only received by the Secretary of State. Additionally, the Algarve Firefighters Federation warns of a “very complicated summer” due to ambulances being held up at emergency departments.
There are ambulances that remain stuck for several hours at emergency departments waiting to transfer patients to clinical teams, leaving them unable to provide emergency aid.
Ambulances across the Algarve are being kept waiting for hours outside hospital emergency departments, leaving fewer vehicles available to respond to 112 calls and putting patients at risk, the Algarve The post Ambulance delays at Algarve hospitals are “putting lives at risk” – firefighters and municipalities appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The Algarve Firefighters Federation and the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve warn that resources must return “immediately to their intervention areas to respond to new emergencies” once a mission is completed.
The complaint comes from the Algarve Firefighters Federation and AMAL – Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve, who express concern over the “growing retention of fire brigade ambulances at the Hospital Emergency Services of the Algarve Local Health Unit.”
A new €60 million hospital planned for Faro aims to tackle one of the Algarve’s longstanding challenges: unequal access to healthcare compared with other parts of Portugal. The private Hospital The post New Faro hospital aims to end ‘postcode lottery’ in Algarve healthcare appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The group's fourth unit in the Algarve will allow for 400,000 consultations, 7,500 surgeries, and 675,000 diagnostic exams annually.
With these projects, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up are extended to primary healthcare, with remote clinical supervision. Sleep apnea affects more than 15% of the Portuguese adult population.
The programmes are expected to begin within three months at the Local Health Units of the Algarve and the Tagus Estuary. Obstructive sleep apnea is a chronic condition that affects more than 15% of the population.
Local officials in Monte Gordo have unveiled the coastal town’s new-look health centre, which has been renovated and expanded. The project has doubled the number of medical consultation rooms from The post Revamped health centre unveiled in Monte Gordo appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Family Health Unit will serve 7,750 patients.
Construction work has started on the €2.7 million expansion and renovation of the health centre in the eastern Algarve border town of Vila Real de Santo António. According to the The post Vila Real de Santo António health centre expansion begins appeared first on Portugal Resident.
