The Local Health Unit (ULS) of Alto Alentejo announced that a special advanced life support ambulance was operational today at the Portalegre hospital from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, during which the Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER) was out of service.
This arrangement was made to “compensate for the absence of a doctor” in the VMER during that time, according to the ULS.
The deployment of this resource resulted from a commitment between the ULS of Alto Alentejo and the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) during a meeting held on Tuesday.
The situation will recur on Thursday: “The same will happen tomorrow [Thursday], from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, for the same reason,” meaning due to the absence of a doctor in the hospital’s VMER during that period, the statement reads.
The ULS emphasized that, in partnership with INEM, they “continue to collaborate” to maintain the effectiveness of pre-hospital care in the region, as well as the “confidence of the population” in emergency medical services, during times of “greater fragility” in staffing.
On Tuesday, INEM and the ULS of Alto Alentejo stated they are making “efforts” to ensure the operability of pre-hospital medical emergency services in the Portalegre district.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two entities explained they are making efforts to address the “staffing difficulties” affecting the VMER assigned to the Portalegre hospital, resulting from a “lack of doctors.”
“Both entities recognize the impact that the inoperability of this medical emergency service can have and reaffirm their commitment to maintaining this capability within the required standards and quality that the population deserves,” they emphasized.
INEM has committed to “providing more slots” for training professionals from or recommended by ULS Alto Alentejo.
“It will also temporarily assist in the reallocation of differentiated emergency resources within the Portalegre VMER’s area of coverage, during times of greater staffing fragility,” they stated in the announcement.
Contacted by Lusa on Tuesday, a source from the board of directors of ULS of Alto Alentejo indicated that from January 1 to July 31 of this year, the VMER attached to the Portalegre hospital was inoperative for a total of 480 hours.
SIC reported on August 29 that a 56-year-old man died in Marvão, in the Portalegre district, due to cardiac arrest.
The television station stated that the man was attended to by firefighters because the VMER in Portalegre was inoperative.
According to SIC, this was the second death in this Alentejo district coinciding with periods when the VMER was unavailable.
Lusa inquired via email with the Health Activities General Inspection about these two deaths and whether investigations into the VMER’s inoperability on those days were initiated, but no clarification has been received so far.
