The pediatric emergency department at the Hospital de Faro will be closed until Sunday, February 27th, the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA) has just announced.
The emergency is already closed today, the 25th, and will remain so until Sunday.
In a statement, signed by clinical director Horácio Guerreiro, CHUA explains that this situation is due to “the lack of pediatric doctors” and the fact that some are “on sick leave”.
During these days, only the Pediatric Emergency Department of the Hospital de Portimão will be open.
According to CHUA, users should, in the first place, «recourse, whenever possible, to their assistant doctors and, secondly, to the Health Centers, to the Basic Emergency Services of CHUA, in Vila Real de Sto. António, Loulé, Albufeira, or Lagos and, when absolutely necessary, to the Pediatric Emergency Service of the Portimão Unit».
Moreover, children who go to the emergency department of Faro will be sent 'for general urgency'.
«The Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will continue in full operation, in Faro, which will guarantee maternity support and assistance in the most serious pediatric clinical situations. We will try to maintain pediatric support for the Portimão maternity hospital, in order to preserve its functioning», says CHUA.
“Despite all the multiple and repeated initiatives, with other hospitals, individual doctors and the hierarchical structure, we were unable to recruit Pediatric Specialists to avoid the current situation”, he concludes.
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