The same source told the Lusa news agency that the Local Health Units (ULS) of Leiria, the Algarve and the West have already opened tenders for the creation of five Model C Family Health Units (USF-C), with the deadline for submitting proposals currently underway.

In addition to the two USF-Cs planned for Silves and Lagos, the Algarve ULS plans to launch another tender to create a private family health unit for the municipalities of Albufeira, Loulé and Portimão.

The ACSS estimates that the remaining tenders will be opened by the end of February, covering the Amadora/Sintra, Western Lisbon, Loures-Odivelas, Santa Maria, São José and Tagus Estuary ULS.

In practice, the new USF-Cs are expected to provide primary health care to around 252,000 users, ‘contributing to strengthening coverage in areas with the highest number of citizens without a family doctor,’ he said.

The health emergency and transformation plan provided that, in July 2024, the first 20 USF-Cs would be put out to tender: 10 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, the region of the country most in need of family doctors; five in Leiria; and another five in the Algarve.

In December, the Ministries of Finance and Health authorised the ULS (Local Health Units) of the Algarve, Amadora-Sintra, Estuário do Tejo, Lisboa Ocidental, Oeste, Leiria, São José and Santa Maria to bear the costs of creating these new health centres, amounting to a total of around €70 million by 2030.

According to the National Health Service's transparency portal, in November 2025, 1,557,148 people in mainland Portugal did not have a family doctor assigned to them.