Hospitals will ‘fill holes’ by closing emergency departments

In Minho, from Friday evening until Monday morning, there is no general surgery department in the emergency department of Viana do Castelo – anyone who needs it will be redirected to Braga, a department that in turn is closed from 8:00 am this Friday to 8:00 a.m. on Mondays, No gynecological/obstetric emergency services.

Restrictions on hospital services due to the inability of doctors to work longer hours than required by law will lead to overburdening of specialized departments. Coimbra University Hospitals administrator Carlos Santos fears that the increased workload on the service will lead to “increased waiting times and a decrease in the quality of service, since resources are not unlimited.”