Latest news and stories about healthcare in Porto, Portugal for expats and residents.
Health Minister Ana Paula Martins has activated the lowest level of contingency plans across hospitals to manage the upcoming ten-day heatwave, while acknowledging ongoing staffing shortages.
The president of ICAD has announced the launch of a new day hospital in Porto on June 1st, dedicated to intensive alcohol treatment, following the opening of a similar facility in Lisbon this past April.
An editorial by Sónia Sapage exploring the multifaceted frustrations of Portuguese nurses, including salary concerns, professional status, and systemic workplace issues discussed at the 7th Nurses' Congress.
At six years old, Rafael uses music to express what words cannot reach. However, the success of music therapy is hindered by the lack of legal status and professional recognition.
Infarmed is currently evaluating the potential widespread hospital use of a new cancer drug after previously denying a special authorisation request for a 35-year-old patient.
An analysis of the medical residency program at S. João Hospital and a critique of the populist political response to the closure of emergency services at Barreiro Hospital.
The recent dispatch signed by Health and Health Management Secretaries has sparked controversy as it paves the way for establishing a Cardiac Surgery Unit at the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Santo António in Porto. This decision has raised questions regarding healthcare policy and resource allocation in the region.
The Secretary of State for Health has signed an order that supports the establishment of a Surgery Unit at Hospital de Santo António, where she has previously worked and maintains connections. This decision highlights the ongoing relationship between healthcare policy and the officials who influence it.
In the past three years, ten patients have tragically died while awaiting heart surgery at Santo António Hospital in Porto, raising serious concerns about the efficiency and safety of the public healthcare system.
The Porto region is set to invest €820,000 in the refurbishment of two health centres. The Vale Formoso Health Unit will receive €526,000 for a four-month renovation, while the Foz Health Centre will be upgraded with an investment of €297,000, expected to take 100 days to complete.
Público reports that the government is preparing to return three more hospitals to the Misericórdias, with the São João da Madeira transfer costing 14 million euros in the first year. The paper also highlights that eight Portuguese influencers visited Israel and Gaza under state guidance, sparking controversy. Meanwhile, Jornal de Notícias notes that toll exemptions on the A41 have failed to reduce traffic on the VCI. Correio da Manhã reports that the Ministry of Education paid 2.65 million euros to a consultancy firm during the exam chaos. CNN Portugal reveals that a valuable Bitcoin wallet seized by the PJ under Luís Neves's leadership mysteriously disappeared after being emptied, with a court now ordering the return of the lost cryptocurrency to the original owners. Other headlines include the government blaming PS/Chega agreements for the lack of further IRS tax cuts, a rise in air conditioning usage, and limited adoption of 'bank of hours' schemes in collective bargaining.
The Pre-Hospital Emergency Technicians Union states that at least 50 incidents went unanswered at the time. Furthermore, the Ministry of Internal Administration feels legitimised to continue performing its duties.
The Urgent Patient Guidance Centre (CODU) in the North experienced a computer system failure between 19:20 and 21:20 today, causing disruptions in call handling and the dispatching of emergency resources, a union source reported.
The Urgent Patient Guidance Centre experienced an IT failure that forced occurrences to be recorded on paper, as there was no backup system in place. Coimbra, Lisbon, and Faro operated normally.
The Tâmega e Sousa Local Health Unit will assume the costs related to the contract. The project is expected to be delivered in about two years.
The issue concerns a lack of human and material resources that are severely compromising the working conditions of these professionals. The request for exemption has already been sent to the Ministry of Health.
At stake may be the possibility of eliminating the need for additional devices and allowing data collection through a single familiar tool.
The air conditioning system failure at the Vilar Saúde Family Health Unit has been ongoing for weeks. The union denounces the inaction of the Local Health Unit and the city council, threatening to report the matter to regulatory authorities.
The Judiciary Police estimate that the scheme may have generated hundreds of thousands of euros in profit. Two of the four arrested individuals held administrative roles at a private hospital in the Porto region.
Among those arrested are two employees of a private hospital centre. Medications were being sold on the black market.
What was not foreseen - and what CM reported happened at a hospital in Trofa - was the possibility of the doctor going from specialist to printer operator.
The Portuguese Medical Association warns that AI does not replace a doctor. The health group declined to provide clarification.
Ana Paula Martins acknowledged the error in the order concerning neuroradiology and interventional cardiology and promised dialogue with scientific societies before publication.
A team from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) concluded, after analysing more than 1,600 premature babies, that skin-to-skin contact with newborns in the first few hours can reduce the rate of infections and the risk of death. The results indicate that kangaroo care [skin-to-skin] applied in the first few hours...
Researchers at i3S want to find ways to keep the immune system “competent for longer”. The study highlights the importance of the thymus, a gland of the immune system.
A team of Portuguese researchers discovered that there are two fundamental proteins to “preserve the functioning of the cells that support the structure of the thymus and allow for the proper formation of T cells”.
A team from the i3S at the University of Porto has identified an immunomodulatory molecule already tested in patients. The goal is to shift from reactive medicine to preventive medicine.
Medical interns in Endocrinology at the Santo António Local Health Unit (ULSSA) in Porto were scheduled for Saturday shifts for two years without receiving overtime pay, as the shifts were incorrectly classified as part of their normal weekly hours. Following a complaint to the Northern Medical Union (SMN), the practice was deemed illegal, as interns' standard hours are Monday to Friday. The union intervened, and the health unit has since ceased the practice. The union president emphasized that protecting interns' rights and training is essential for the quality of the National Health Service (SNS).
The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, listed health research today in Porto as an opportunity for Portugal and greeted the “practically invisible” researchers who place the patient at the centre.
Seguro was speaking at the end of a visit to the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) at the University of Porto.
