The Social Security Institute (ISS) announced that 49 elderly individuals have been relocated by the Porto District Social Security services “to appropriate social responses.”
The ISS reported that an illegal nursing home operating in São Mamede da Infesta, Matosinhos, was shut down in a joint effort with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Regional Health Authority, the Institute of Legal Medicine, and security forces.
“This closure was executed based on a judicial mandate, following the ISS’s report to the Public Prosecutor on April 2nd, regarding non-compliance with an administrative closure order by the owning entity (crime of disobedience),” explains the ISS.
The ISS stated that the decision for administrative closure was due to “deficiencies in installation conditions, sanitation, hygiene, and comfort, following a previous inspection by ISS services.”
The ISS also noted that the process will continue in the judicial sphere.
Last month, an illegal nursing home located in Abrantes, Santarém district, was closed by the PSP, with all 11 elderly residents being relocated to their families or other facilities.
An official PSP source in Abrantes previously stated that the inspection on May 14th was conducted collaboratively with various entities, triggered by “rumors” alerting the authorities to “non-compliance” situations in an elderly residential structure, specifically indicating “illegal operations.”
The inspection led to the “urgent closure” of the facility due to “total lack of conditions for sanitation, hygiene, safety, comfort, and operation” and resulted in eight infraction reports for various violations.
The action concluded with the “removal of all 11 elderly individuals from the structure, either by relatives or Social Security,” who were “relocated to other institutions,” the PSP added.
The PSP identified the woman in charge of the home, who is around 50 years old.
Data from the Social Security Institute reveals that between 2020 and 2024, there were 3,245 inspections across the country, leading to 568 closure orders, of which 119 were urgent and enforced closures. However, last year alone saw the closure of 130 homes, the highest number in the past five years.
