Critical Emergency Room Wait Times in Portugal: Why Traveling to Covilhã Might Be Quicker!

Emergency Room Situation in Portugal
The current state of emergency rooms in Portugal is critical, especially in Lisbon and the Algarve. This situation is a reflection of the lack of investment in healthcare.
As of Monday morning, the average wait time at the Portimão Hospital was 15 hours and 8 minutes, with peaks of 17 hours early in the day. In comparison, the Covilhã Hospital reported a wait time of only 28 minutes.
Joana Bordalo e Sá, president of the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM), expressed frustration over the lack of medical staff, stating, “This only demonstrates the insufficient human resources, especially in terms of doctors, needed to handle the cases that require clinical evaluation.”
Carlos Cortes, the president of the Order of Doctors, acknowledged the expected increase in emergency room visits due to the flu season but criticized the normalization of long wait times, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”
Investment in Primary Care
Both the unions and Cortes urge for greater investment in primary healthcare, particularly in hiring more General and Family Medicine doctors, as over 1.5 million patients lack a family doctor.
Government Response
In response to the ongoing emergency room constraints, the government has implemented a pre-triage model through the SNS 24 helpline, which has reportedly reduced emergency room visits by 30%. However, this model has faced criticism for not addressing the underlying issues.
Current Wait Times Across Hospitals

• Portimão Hospital: 15 hours and 20 minutes for urgent cases.
• Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon: 2 hours and 14 minutes.
• Amadora-Sintra Hospital: 9 hours and 44 minutes.
• Hospital Beatriz Ângelo in Loures: Critically overcrowded, with no available wait time data.
• Covilhã Hospital: 23 minutes wait for urgent cases.
  Overall, the situation paints a troubling picture of the public health system in Portugal, highlighting urgent needs for reform and investment.