Portugal’s national Medical Association estimates that the Algarve is now short of at least 250 doctors, noting that at this time of year the population in the region triples.
At a press conference today in Lisbon, Dr Jaime Teixeira, president of the Order of Medics, Southern Region said that in the case of Loulé, for example, the situation was defined as ‘very worrying’ because the emergency department had been forced to close down temporarily three times due to a lack of professional staff including doctors.
The Algarve's hospitals now are lacking 200 doctors in specialties such as anesthesia, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, among others. In addition, there is a lack of local GPs serving communities through health centres across the region.
According to Mendes the shortage of professionals in primary care forces users to seek care in hospitals, overloading units that already are lacking adequate professional cover.
"We are living through a period of dramatic underfunding of the National Health Service, a deficit of resources and dangerous decisions for patients. We can not remain silent or we will be accused of being complicit. The lack of doctors in the Algarve, is almost an economic crime. A region that thrives on tourism, is going to destroy tourism by a lack of medical care," said Mendes at a press congference in Lisbon.
The Regional Health Administration for the Algarve (ARS) rejected any responsibility for the lack of human resources in emergency services, considering that this area is the responsibility of the Central Algarve Hospital (CHA) run by Dr Pedro Nunes,
Pedro Nunes in turn said human resources for emergencies are the responsibility of the Regional Health Administration for the Algarve.
The position of the two health management bodies followed local press reports on the lack of medical staff in Loulé and Albufeira and has highlighted the problem - two management bodies at loggerheads with an inate ability to argue rather than achieve.
The president of the Algarve’s mayors’ group commented that lack of human resources in health services in the region, particularly in the Emergency Services, is "dire" and "seriously undermines" the image of the Algarve as a safe tourist destination.
Jorge Botelho was reacting to the views expressed by the Order of Medics, Southern Region, at the press conference and summarised the problem as being due to the lack of professionals in the region’s emergency departments.
This problem has been identified by the Regional Health Administration (ARS) and the Hospitals of the Algarve (CHA), but the two bodies, overseen by an invisible Ministry of Health, continue to differ on which has responsibility for ensuring emergency service levels are achieved.
Dr Nunes agreed that that the major problem in the Algarve is a "lack of manpower" and that there is increasing difficulty in finding professionals. Nunes hopes that the situation will be resolved quickly, with the Regional Health Administration assuming the responsibility.
Whichever body is right and which is wrong is immaterial as with attitudes like this, notably from the confrontational Dr Pedro Nunes, it is little wonder the health system in the Algarve is at an all time low as it heads into the critical tourist season.
The overall responsibility for this shambles is that of the Minister of Health. Paulo Macedo's continued backing of Dr Nunes over this and other regional breakdowns attributable to Nunes' management ability, places the Minister's judgement judgement further into question.
