Portugal's family doctor shortage deepens as Alentejo sees record number without GP

Data from the Portuguese National Health Service shows that the Alentejo region ended the first half of 2026 with 94,908 patients—18.67% of the 508,422 registered for primary care—without an assigned family doctor, the highest level recorded since the series began in June 2025. The figure rose each month from 87,338 at the start of the year to 94,908 in June, with the Litoral Alentejo health unit alone accounting for 34,459 patients (32.04% of its 107,563 registrants). Other sub‑regions, such as Alto and Baixo Alentejo, recorded declines.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced a plan to guarantee family doctors in health centres by creating Family Health Units (USF) that may be publicly or privately managed. He highlighted the western, Algarve and Lisbon metropolitan areas as the most affected. The first privately managed USF opened in São Pedro da Cadeira, Torres Vedras, operated by KnokHealth Portugal, and the health minister Ana Paula Martins said ten private USFs are planned nationwide, a model first proposed in 2007.