“It does not surprise us, the conclusions of IGAS [General Inspection of Health Activities] about this case in Bragança”, stated STEPH in a communiqué, adding that no structural improvements have been implemented by INEM, despite being extensively suggested by the union.
In conclusions accessed today, IGAS notes that the patient, 86, who died of a myocardial infarction on October 31, 2024, in Bragança during the pre-hospital emergency technicians’ strike, had a probability of survival, albeit reduced. INEM took 1h20 to arrive, and according to IGAS, the man might have survived with immediate aid, yet the workers were not blamed.
According to STEPH, “delays like these already happened before the strike, continued to happen after the strike, and still happen today”, the communiqué reads.
The union has a meeting scheduled for today at 3:30 PM at the Ministry of Health in Lisbon. In the same communiqué, STEPH indicated it will demand “the immediate implementation of structural measures, under penalty of continuing to lose lives that could be saved”.
Today’s conclusions state that IGAS says “it is not possible to formulate judgments of culpability on the conduct of CODU [Urgent Patient Operation Center] workers, considering the call volume forwarded by the 112 line”.
IGAS concluded inquiries into cases in Almada and Tondela
Besides this inquiry, IGAS concluded two others: one related to a 74-year-old patient who died on November 4 in the Almada municipality, and another concerning a 93-year-old patient who died on November 2 in the Tondela municipality.
In the Almada case, IGAS concluded that despite delays in call handling by CODU, and the lack of available ambulances from the volunteer fire brigades of Almada and Cacilhas, “there is no causal link between the delay in service and the patient’s death”, as “given the irreversible brain injury, the patient was not salvageable”.
In the Tondela case, IGAS concluded that despite delays in call handling and activation of rescue means by CODU, “there is no causal link” between INEM’s delay and the patient’s death, as “it would be very unlikely that any timelier maneuver would have had any chance of success, given the patient’s significant cardiovascular pathology history”.
