Portugal emergency rooms report high wait times

Emergency departments across Portugal are experiencing significant delays, with some wait times for initial medical observation exceeding 11 hours at the Hospital Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Barreiro. In the Setúbal Peninsula, the Hospital Garcia de Orta in Almada reported the highest average wait times, reaching seven hours for initial observation.

Other regions also report high pressure. In Lisbon, wait times at Santa Maria Hospital exceeded seven hours, while hospitals in Portimão and Faro in the Algarve reported waits of over six hours. In contrast, the Montijo Hospital reported much lower average wait times of approximately 22 minutes.

Portuguese Health Minister Ana Paula Martins acknowledged the high demand, particularly in the Algarve, but stated that current conditions are significantly better than in 2023 and 2024, noting that the country no longer faces the emergency service closures seen in previous years. She attributed the current delays to peaks in demand and the impact of seasonal staff holidays, while emphasizing that the government does not consider these long wait times for urgent patients to be acceptable.