Pediatric emergencies to be open 24 hours in summer
The Executive Directorate of the National Health Service has announced that pediatrics emergency services in the Algarve will be fully operational between July and September in at least in one of the locations (CHUA - Faro/Portimão), while the three services in Alentejo will operate uninterruptedly.
The news comes shortly after the annoucement that pediatric services in Portimão hospital will close at the weekend.
This decision by the SNS executive board is valid for the months of July, August and September 2023. The results of this strategic plan will be evaluated for future decisions, said a statement released last night.
“Strengthening networking between hospital institutions and primary health care teams, as well as timely strategic planning of the response, is one of the central missions of the SNS executive board”, explained the Executive Directorate.
Woman caught lighting fires in Monte Gordo woods
At a time when there are seven municipalities in the Algarve at very high risk of fire, police arrested a woman yesterday in the woods of Monte Gordo, for setting fires.
According to IPMA forecasts, the municipalities at very high risk of fire are the municipalities of Lagos, Portimão, Monchique, Silves, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel and Tavira, at least until Tuesday.
The woman was seen by a member of the public, setting fire to various parts of the forest with a lighter in Monte Gordo woods. She immediately reported the woman to authorities, who caught the 36 year old suspect red handed.
The Vila Real de Santo António firefighters who were called, and were able to extinguish all fires swiftly.
The suspect was detained at the premises of the Maritime Police in Vila Real de Santo António and will appear in court today, June 16th. The Judiciary Police and the Public Ministry were contacted.
Immigration has offset the negative natural balance of Portugal's population
The National Institute of Statistics say Portugal increased its resident population by 46,249 people last year, totalling population of 10,467,366. They attribute the increase to immigration, which has offset the negative natural balance.
According to the INE estimates, 2022 was the fourth consecutive year in which there was an increase in population in Portugal.
“The population increase in 2022 resulted from a migratory balance of 86,889 people (72,040 in 2021), which offset the negative natural balance of –40,640 (-45,220 in 2021)”, announced INE.
In 2022, the average number of children per woman of childbearing age increased to 1.43 children (1.35 in 2021).
Demographic aging in Portugal continued to accelerate, with the aging index in 2022 standing at 185.6 elderly people per 100 young people (181.3 in 2021).
The median age of the population residing in Portugal, which corresponds to the age that divides the population into two groups of equal size, increased from 46.7 years in 2021 to 47.0 years in 2022.
In the division by sex established by INE, the population in December 2022 consisted of 5,001,811 men and 5,465,555 women.
"The resident population has been increasing since 2019, contrary to the trend of population decrease seen between 2010 and 2018", added INE.
The increase in population, recorded since 2019, resulted from the positive migratory balance (number of immigrants greater than that of emigrants), which surpassed the negative natural balance (number of deaths greater than live births).
Faro Hospital: Cockroaches discovered in the INEM ambulance base
Reports have come to light regarding the discovery of cockroaches, spotted at the INEM ambulance base inside Faro Hospital in recent weeks.
The insects were found on the floor and walls of areas where pre-hospital emergency technicians eat and rest while waiting for emergency call outs. Staff have even discovered cockroaches inside a food package.
INEM was questioned by Portuguese newspaper, Correio da Manhã , and they say they became aware of the situation “last Tuesday”. They contacted the Board of Directors of the Centro Hospital e Universitário do Algarve “for reporting and resolution”.
The administration of the Hospital Center have confirmed that the verification and intervention of the ambulance base in Faro was the subject of a request. Management of INEM also clarifies that disinfestations are regular. The last one “took place on Friday”.
Olhão: 8 year old girl screams, to stop a man sexually harassing her
A man was arrested on Sunday evening for sexually harassing an eight year old girl in Olhão. The child's screamed, which alerted neighbours who stopped the individual.
The crime took place in the Bairro dos Pescadores area, in Olhão, around 7:40pm on Sunday evening. Family members say that the child was playing in the street when the man invited her to play.
One of the neighbours spotted what was happening and filmed “the kissing game” between the girl and the man. Whoever didn't get a question right had to kiss the other. The video is the subject of a lot of publicity on social networks.
Neighbours immediately confronted the man, who denied all the accusations. Later, when the PSP arrived, he confessed to the acts and was arrested.
GNR soldiers will earn a percentage of the 'fines' they impose
The Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, has signed an order to confirm that GNR soldiers will earn a percentage of the amount of fines they impose, backdated to January 1, 2022.
The percentages referred to are 15% for customs offenses and 10% for tax offenses.
Comments are already circulating on social media, such as "Now you can really say they are purely fine hunting”.
