“Cutting consultations, surgeries or other health care in a context of growing demand is not a neutral option: it is a decision with direct human consequences. These cuts are already happening across the country, resulting in delays in diagnosis, postponed treatments and patients without a timely response, which worsens the anxiety and insecurity of thousands of people.” This is what the National Health Convention, which brings together 150 institutions, more than 60 patient associations, sector associations, such as pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry and others, states in a statement sent to newsrooms this Thursday afternoon, the 12th.
This statement comes after an urgent meeting to debate and take a position on what the CNS identifies as a “serious situation” in the National Health Service (SNS) – remember that in recent times it has been reported by various media outlets that there are local health units that no longer have a budget for the purchase of medicines for chronic diseases and other expenses.
According to the CNS, “the numbers leave no doubt: National Health Service waiting lists will grow in 2025” – citing provisional data released in February by the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS).
“At the end of the year, there were 1,088,656 users waiting for a specialist appointment and 264,615 on the waiting list for surgery. There are more than one million, three hundred thousand Portuguese people waiting”, considering that “for many, each delay means more suffering, greater uncertainty and, in some cases, a real risk of worsening their clinical situation. Late access to healthcare is not just an administrative problem. It is a problem that directly affects people’s lives and well-being”.
For this reason, it asks “the Executive Management to ensure, clearly and immediately, that the necessary administrative and financial resources are ensured to maintain the care response and protect users’ timely access to health care”.
For the CNS, aggravating this scenario is another, that of “new cuts”, which “will have predictable consequences: more delays in diagnosis and treatment, greater exhaustion of health professionals and more fragility in the sustainability of the SUS”, maintaining that “patients who do not receive care on time, pay the highest price – with their health and, sometimes, with their lives”.
In this statement, the convention argues that “it is necessary to protect those who depend on the SUS”, “improving management without putting at risk the mission of health professionals and access to the care that the Portuguese need”.
Leave a Reply