The measures are outlined in the Seasonal Health Response Plan – summer module, which comes into effect today and continues until September 30, with the aim of enhancing the Service Nacional de Saúde’s (SNS) capacity to meet increased healthcare demands during this season.
The decree, issued on April 10, attributes this increased demand to several factors, including the rise in seasonal illnesses, heightened tourist activity, and extreme temperature fluctuations.
“These factors necessitate a strategic strengthening of the SNS’s assistive capacity, ensuring continued quality healthcare services,” states the decree signed by Secretary of State for Health, Ana Povo.
Specific measures for reinforcement and reorganization of services have been established, such as the requirement that any closure of the emergency services must be pre-authorized by the DE-SNS, following a proposal from the Local Health Unit’s (ULS) Board of Directors, rather than simply informing the National Institute of Medical Emergency.
The proposal should specify the ULS to which patients will be redirected, in addition to the period and reasons for any potential closure of emergency services, clearly differentiating between short and long-term closures.
The ULS are also required to report daily on bed occupancy rates and emergency service influx, as well as activate the highest level of contingency and mitigation measures implemented.
Additionally, an enhanced coordination between ULS, the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services, and INEM is mandated to ensure “an integrated and efficient response to emergencies, with suitable response times and reinforcing emergency resources whenever necessary,” emphasizes the decree.
Other measures include strengthening and reorganizing services to ensure appropriate healthcare delivery through optimum use of human resources, restructuring on-call schedules, fostering inter-institutional coordination, and boosting operational capacities of healthcare units.
Thus, the ULS must prepare service rosters in advance, posted in visible areas for health professionals, ensuring the presence of medical, nursing, and other healthcare teams as required by healthcare needs, and reconsider these schedules if necessary, submitting them to DE-SNS at least two months prior.
They should also boost the capacity of primary health care units, extending working hours and enhancing service for acute illnesses to avert hospital emergency overloads, especially in areas expecting higher seasonal patient influx due to vacations, mass events, and international tourism.
As per the decree, the ULS should identify and activate additional beds, particularly for chronic patients, dehydration victims, and ailments related to high temperatures.
In collaboration with the ULS, DE-SNS is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the seasonal health response plan, ensuring healthcare service monitoring and adjusting measures as necessary.
