The Inspectorate-General for Health Activities (IGAS) acknowledged today that the death of a man in Mogadouro, Bragança, during an INEM strike, might be linked to the delay in response from the Urgent Patients Guidance Center (CODU).
“The delay in telephone response by CODU could have significantly influenced the victim’s final outcome following a choking incident,” IGAS stated in a report concerning the investigation into the death of an 84-year-old man on November 2, 2024, during a strike by the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).
Responding to this document, Rui Lázaro, the president of the Union of Pre-Hospital Emergency Technicians (STEPH), expressed to the Lusa news agency that “it is unsurprising that the report links the delay in response to the tragic outcome that occurred.”
However, Rui Lázaro explained that “choking is a medical emergency requiring an immediate response, which was not provided in this case due to the delay in service.”
“The conclusion indicating a possible failure by the CODU doctor is entirely inappropriate and demonstrates a lack of rigor and knowledge by IGAS inspectors, as it criticizes the non-deployment of the VMER from Bragança for the secondary transport between Mogadouro and Bragança,” the union leader justified.
According to Rui Lázaro, “the determining factor” in this outcome was the time the man’s brain went without oxygen.
“During secondary transport, the VMER would no longer make a difference, as the harm was already caused by the delay in primary assistance to this 84-year-old man,” he stated.
Regretting this “sad outcome,” Rui Lázaro emphasized that this case “highlights the weaknesses” in emergency medical assistance in the country’s interior.
In its inquiry, IGAS also found “disciplinary indications in the conduct of a regulating doctor at Porto’s CODU,” explaining that this doctor did not act “diligently and conscientiously when deploying specialized emergency medical resources, namely the Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle” for transportation between Mogadouro emergency services and Bragança Hospital.
The conclusions of the investigation, now released, were based on medical expertise in the field of pneumology and were sent to INEM’s board of directors, to the Northeast Health Unit, to the Public Prosecutor’s Office – which has opened an inquiry related to this death -, to the Medical Association, and to the Minister of Health.
IGAS has completed 12 investigations related to the deaths recorded during the INEM technicians’ overtime strike, which began on October 30 and was suspended on November 7, coinciding with the public service strike on November 4, 2024.
Of the 12 investigations, IGAS concluded that three of the deaths during the strike were associated with delayed assistance.
IGAS indicates that any potential disciplinary action against the doctor falls under INEM’s remit, as the “health professional in question holds an indefinite employment contract.”
In addition to the reports on the 12 deaths, IGAS also produced a report on the strikes’ impacts on CODU’s responsiveness, concluding that more than half of the calls to INEM were abandoned, with only 2,510 of 7,326 calls answered.
