According to a note posted on the Presidency of the Republic’s website, “once the proposed amendments to the Government were introduced, the President of the Republic promulgated the decree establishing an organisational model that provides for the centralised operation of the SNS’s external emergency services, at the regional level.”

On 2 January, the Government confirmed to Lusa that the President of the Republic had requested the “improvement” of three decrees in the health sector, including the decree on the regional centralisation of emergency services.

The Government approved the legal framework establishing the regional emergency services in October and anticipated that the first unit would begin operations on the Setúbal Peninsula at the beginning of this year.

Hospitals on the Setúbal Peninsula have faced the most significant constraints due to a shortage of professionals to cover obstetrics and gynaecology shifts, leading to recurring temporary closures of emergency services.

This system, created through a decree-law, is to be applied “only and exclusively” in situations where the continuity of emergency services is not ensured due to a lack of human resources, explained the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, in October.

According to the Minister, two or more local health units (ULS) in a given region may join forces to consolidate emergency services.

The first regional emergency service to become operational will be in obstetrics and gynaecology on the Setúbal Peninsula, and the three hospitals in that region – Setúbal, Barreiro, and Almada – will maintain all scheduled activity in the maternity wards and delivery rooms, Ana Paula Martins added.

However, external emergency services will be centralised at the Garcia de Orta Hospital, the Minister stated, emphasising that this centralisation in the Setúbal Peninsula was based on a technical study indicating that the Setúbal Hospital, which will not have its emergency services open to the outside, will receive emergencies referred by INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergency).

According to the Minister’s statements explaining the measure, “so“the particularities of this legal framework for the centralisation of regional external emergency services were being negotiated with the unions.

She stated that the professionals on the regional emergency teams – doctors, nurses, and auxiliary health technicians – will maintain their employment ties to their Local Health Units (ULS), but will engage in work-related travel, in accordance with existing law.

The creation of these regional emergency services is a measure foreseen in the Government Program.