“In the past three years – 2022, 2023, 2024 – the ERS has suspended the health activity of 31 healthcare facilities, in addition to the seven precautionary measures adopted in 2025,” disclosed the regulator today.
The ERS stated that the suspension of these facilities’ activities was due to reasons such as the lack of qualification and training of professionals and non-compliance with minimum requirements for the sterilization of medical devices, hospital waste management, and facilities and equipment standards.
The ERS explained that suspending activity is a provisional measure taken by the regulator when non-compliances are detected in the functioning of regulated establishments, constituting “gross violation of legal and regulatory obligations” that may pose a severe and irreparable threat, or a threat challenging to repair, to the public’s health and safety of users and professionals.
These measures involve determining the total or partial suspension of health activity at a healthcare facility for a specified period, the regulator stated.
If the entity responsible for the facility provides appropriate corrections to eliminate the threat to the users’ health and safety, the suspended activity may resume; otherwise, it may be permanently terminated.
“Failure to comply with a precautionary measure of activity suspension constitutes an administrative offense by the entity responsible for the healthcare facility and may constitute a crime of disobedience,” the ERS further warned.
The most recent case occurred at the end of August when the ERS suspended the activity of a dental clinic in the Figueira da Foz municipality, due to a professional unqualified to perform medical acts.
The facts were reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Order of Dentists, and the Order of Doctors.
In July, the regulator announced the suspension of a facility in the aesthetics field in the Cascais municipality, also due to healthcare practices by an unqualified professional.
