Nurses in the region are participating in a strike, with Alda Pereira from the Portuguese Nurses Syndicate (SEP) reporting an 80% adherence rate, and a complete shutdown in the operating room, where all scheduled surgeries have been canceled, allowing only oncological surgeries to proceed.
Rosa Franco from the Union of Public Function Workers of the South and Autonomous Regions indicated at a press conference in Faro that “many services are affected,” although minimum service requirements, as mandated by law, are being met.
“The services significantly impacted with strong adherence include the Emergency Room, which is in chaos, external consultations with many closed counters and no consultations, Radiology, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (UCA),” where surgeries are being canceled, she stated.
André Gomes of the Southern Zone Medical Union (SMZS-FNAM) mentioned that he does not yet have data on doctors’ participation in the strike, with more information expected by late morning.
The strike, taking place from midnight to 24:00 today, involves all health professionals working for the National Health Service (SNS) in the region, corresponding to the Faro district. The workers are demanding, among other things, the hiring of more staff to alleviate the strain they claim to be under.
