Latest news and stories about medical services in Porto, Porto, Portugal for expats and residents.
The Nurses' Union has demanded urgent solutions for the São João Local Health Unit in Porto, citing a critical shortage of staff in emergency departments. The union is calling for increased staffing levels and the implementation of a risk and hardship allowance for medical professionals.
The Santo António Local Health Unit (Unidade Local de Saúde or ULS) in Porto has suspended all overtime orthopaedic and neurosurgery operations. The decision follows a change in how the hospital calculates payments for additional surgical activity, which has led to protests from medical staff and impacts on patient waiting lists.
The Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação or IPST) reports that national blood reserves remain stable and sufficient to supply hospitals. While some donor federations have warned of critical levels during the summer peak, the IPST maintains that current stocks are comparable to previous years. Separately, São João Hospital in Porto has pioneered performing blood transfusions directly at trauma scenes using specialized emergency vehicles.
The Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação or IPST) is the public agency responsible for managing the national blood supply and overseeing organ, tissue, and cell transplantation. It ensures the safety and availability of blood products used by hospitals like São João in Porto for emergency procedures and transfusions.
The Northern Patient Emergency Guidance Centre (Centro de Orientação de Doentes Urgentes or CODU) experienced a two-hour IT system failure on Thursday evening. The outage, which lasted from 19:20 to 21:20, disrupted call handling and the dispatch of emergency resources, with reports indicating at least 50 incidents were not processed during this time.
The CODU (Centro de Orientação de Doentes Urgentes) is the emergency medical dispatch center responsible for coordinating urgent pre-hospital care in Portugal. It operates under the National Institute of Medical Emergency (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica or INEM) to assess medical emergencies and dispatch the appropriate resources, such as ambulances or helicopters.
The General Inspectorate of Health Activities (Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde or IGAS) is investigating the deaths of ten patients who were on waiting lists for cardiac surgery at the Santo António hospital. These deaths reportedly occurred between 2022 and 2025, prompting oversight bodies to demand accountability for the long wait times.
IGAS is the Inspectorate-General for Health Activities (Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde or IGAS), the government body that inspects and audits public and private health services, investigates complaints and can recommend sanctions or changes. After reported failures in emergency care, IGAS can open inquiries, publish findings and advise the Ministry or the SNS on corrective measures; residents and patients can also file complaints that IGAS may investigate.
The Inspectorate-General of Health Activities (Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde or IGAS) is investigating Eurico Castro Alves, the surgery director at Hospital de Santo António in Porto, for allegedly receiving 179,000 euros in irregular commissions. The payments were linked to surgeries performed outside normal working hours under the Integrated System for Management of Waiting Lists for Surgery (Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Inscritos para Cirurgia or SIGIC). While the IGAS report deems the payments irregular, both the doctor and the local health unit maintain that the compensation was legal.
IGAS is the Inspectorate-General for Health Activities (Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde or IGAS), the government body that inspects and audits public and private health services, investigates complaints and can recommend sanctions or changes. After reported failures in emergency care, IGAS can open inquiries, publish findings and advise the Ministry or the SNS on corrective measures; residents and patients can also file complaints that IGAS may investigate.
The Integrated Management System for Surgery (Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Inscritos para Cirurgia or SIGIC) is a national platform used to manage waiting lists for surgeries within the public health system. It tracks patient wait times and helps coordinate procedures between different public hospitals and private clinics to ensure patients receive care within established legal timeframes.
The National Authority for Medicines and Health Products (Infarmed) is evaluating whether the state will pay for a new brain cancer drug called Voranigo. The evaluation follows a rejected special authorization request for a 35-year-old patient, though the agency is now considering a more general approval for use in public hospitals. Patients and families should note that the drug targets specific gliomas and has already been approved for use in other jurisdictions.
