Around half of the emergency units will be fully operational in the last week of this year, announced the executive management of the National Health Service, which foresees a “generic normalization” of these services from January.
«During the last week of 2023, there will be 45 units fully operational (54%)», states the plan to reorganize the SNS emergency services network for the period between December 24th and 30th.
According to the executive management led by Fernando Araújo, the SNS emergency services are distributed across 83 points across the country and have, despite the limitations registered, demonstrated «capacity for articulation and support, ensuring safety and quality in the provision of care of health, in a planned, organized manner, and ensuring the necessary predictability».
The document recognizes that the Christmas period "is traditionally characterized by additional limitations" in emergencies, due to the unavailability of professionals, this year also because of the refusal to work more than the 150 annual overtime hours provided for by law, but "especially due to the lack of commitment and responsibility of service providers”.
«With the beginning of next year and the renewal of the availability of professionals to carry out additional work, a general normalization of the functioning of emergency services is expected», says the executive management of the SNS.
The deliberation also recognizes that the pressure of respiratory infections, due to their seasonality and the lower temperatures that are occurring, brings challenges in terms of acute illness, with an impact not only on emergency services, but also on hospitalizations.
«There have been spikes in demand, which occasionally necessarily translate into longer waiting times, and which are known, but in comparative terms with previous years, once again this week, when compared to the 2022 counterpart, these have been of lowest value", he adds.
The deliberation highlights that users should, whenever possible, in the case of an acute illness, call SNS24 in advance and comply with the instructions received. In urgent or emergency situations, you should contact 112, which will forward the call to INEM.
«The assessment of the functioning of emergency services by the executive management of the SNS will continue to be weekly in nature, it will be adapted according to the analysis carried out with the various hospital institutions, in order to ensure the predictability of the system and thus contribute to safety and quality, in the provision of care», indicates the document.
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