“From my knowledge, none of these studies show that the ULS model is superior to the previous model we had. I am not aware of any study that would justify adopting this ULS model across the entire country suddenly,” noted Álvaro Almeida during the parliamentary Health Committee.
At the beginning of 2024, under a new organizational model of the National Health Service (SNS), 31 ULS were created, adding to the eight already existing ones. This integrated primary care (health centers) and hospital care into a single entity per geographical area, with the aim of facilitating patients’ journey through the system.
When questioned by deputies about the functioning of the SNS 24 Line, Álvaro Almeida emphasized being a “scholar of these health system organization issues” for many years, even before becoming the executive director of SNS.
“I myself have conducted, in an academic setting, several studies and supervised other studies on ULS,” stated the head of the entity that manages the SNS network, asserting that Portugal has “very different regions in terms of health, with different needs and different responses.”
“Applying the same model to all is a formula for failure,” emphasized Álvaro Almeida, arguing that one cannot apply the same solutions in all regions “precisely because the needs are different, the realities are different,” which requires “solutions adaptable to each case.”
