A decree published today in the Diário da República outlines that for the units in Braga, Loures, and Vila Franca de Xira, the study will cover the management of hospital facilities (clinical aspects) as well as buildings related to primary health care in their respective Local Health Units (ULS), when not managed by municipalities.
Currently, hospital buildings in Braga, Loures, and Vila Franca de Xira are managed through PPP contracts, and the government believes they “could benefit from comprehensive management (clinical and infrastructural) under PPP and corresponding risk transfer.”
The study is also expected to address the management of buildings for primary health care—when not managed by municipalities—and hospital care, as well as clinical establishments, for the ULS comprising both Amadora-Sintra and Garcia de Orta, which are currently under public management.
“The study should clearly define the elements capable of meeting the prerequisites that would allow, if applicable, the formulation and justification of a proposal to launch the PPP,” states the decree signed by the Secretary of State for Health Management, Francisco Nuno Rocha Gonçalves.
The government emphasizes the need to ensure the integration of primary and hospital health care provision by the current 39 ULS and to minimize “any emerging impacts and constraints” from the coexistence of management by public entities, regarding primary health care provided by ULS, and private or social sector entities, in terms of hospital care in PPP-managed hospitals.
According to the State Budget proposal for 2026, submitted to parliament last week, expenses with Health PPPs are set to increase by 40% to 325 million euros in 2026, due to additional costs with the Hospital de Cascais (an additional 13 million euros) and the future Hospital de Lisboa Oriental, currently under construction in Marvila.
