Doctors Threaten to Leave Amadora-Sintra Emergency Due to Overwork and Sudden Schedule Changes

Excessive workload and sudden schedule changes without notice have led doctors to warn of an imminent service breakdown at the Amadora-Sintra Hospital's emergency department. The Order of Physicians (OM) and unions have raised concerns following an open letter from 19 doctors to the administration of the ULS Amadora-Sintra (ULSAS), highlighting the risk of service disruption. The recent opening of the Sintra Hospital has resulted in staff sharing between the two units, further overburdening the Amadora-Sintra emergency.

At 3:00 PM yesterday, the hospital was one of the busiest, with 72 patients waiting for their first observation, averaging 4h54m for less urgent cases and 3h25m for urgent ones.

"The warning cannot be ignored. The Board of Directors must talk to the doctors, listen to them, and, above all, be advised by them," stressed Luís Campo Pinheiro from the OM's Southern Regional Council after a meeting with ULSAS administration. The issue revolves around measures not communicated to clinicians, such as sudden changes in shifts and work locations, which the OM "does not agree with or accept."

The administration assures that meetings with team leaders have been held and that individual meetings with each doctor will now take place to "find solutions." In a statement, the ULSAS administration explained that several measures are being implemented to improve the emergency service at Fernando Fonseca Hospital, including redirecting non-urgent and emergency patients preferably to the Sintra Hospital's SUB.

A new coordination team has also been hired for the joint management of emergencies at both hospitals. "The creation of an Integrated Responsibility Center for the emergency area is in preparation, an organizational innovation that will bring significant advantages both in management and in compensating professionals working in emergency services, based on productivity and quality care criteria," explained the administration led by Carlos Sá. These changes "inevitably affect some entrenched interests, which may generate resistances like those currently observed."

In the first half of the year, 61 new doctors were hired for the hospital area and 31 for Primary Health Care at ULSAS. The ULS Amadora-Sintra serves over 560,000 users (5% of the Portuguese population), with more than 192,000 without a family doctor.

Six Emergency Services Closed

This Saturday and Sunday, several emergency services are closed, according to schedules released by the National Health Service. For two days, the Gynecology/Obstetrics (UGO) emergencies at Leiria, Aveiro, and Vila Franca de Xira hospitals, and the Pediatrics emergency at Vila Franca de Xira are closed. The UGO at Setúbal and Caldas da Rainha hospitals are closed today. Tomorrow, the UGO at Barreiro and Santarém hospitals will be closed. On Monday, the SUB in Peniche is closed, followed by the Obstetrics (UO) emergency in Santarém on Tuesday, and the UGO at Garcia de Orta Hospital in Almada on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, the UO in Santarém and the UGO in Setúbal close again.

Administration Sought Additional Surgeries

The administration of Santa Maria Hospital (Lisbon) asked dermatologists to perform additional surgeries to increase state funding for the health unit. According to 'Expresso,' doctors warned managers about the high costs of some surgeries. The idea was for dermatologists to perform surgeries during consultations, counted as exams. This way, the hospital received payment from the SNS for an exam, not a surgery, while doctors only received their salary. The high expenses in the Dermatology service are being investigated by the Public Ministry and have already led to hospital officials being heard in Parliament. Internal audits confirmed irregularities in the service, and the General Inspection of Health Activities concluded that the hospital spent 40 million euros on additional surgeries since 2022.