Since the beginning of this month, the Emergency Psychiatry unit has been in operation at Portimão’s Algarve University Hospital, officials have claimed this will “improve the accessibility, quality and speed of care for people with mental illnesses in the Western Algarve, reducing the flow of patients to Faro’s Emergency Psychiatric facilities", according to a statement from ARS Algarve.
The Regional Health Administration reveals that, in conjunction with the Algarve University Hospital Centre and the services of its Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, the resources and quality of services available in primary and hospital health care are improving their Mental Health and Psychiatry facilities in the Algarve.
The ARS have almost doubled the number of psychiatrists in the last few years and, at the same time, increased the number of young doctors training in the specialty.
The creation of these facilities as part of their Emergency Services follows the implementation of Community Mental Health consultations in local Health Centres, allowing adults to resort to psychiatry and psychology consultations closer to their own homes in the countryside.
"This way, with both quality services and proximity in mind, many unnecessary trips of users, police entities and ambulances between areas of the Algarve are avoided", emphasizes the ARS. At this moment in time, Community Mental Health consultations are held at the three Health Centre Groupings (ACeS) in the region, with patients referred by hospital services or by their GP to the Community Mental Health team at their local Health Centre, allowing them to avoid a trip to the hospital.
