About 17 thousand users out of 63,883 do not have a family doctor in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Lisbon district, the Ministry of Health admitted in response to a request from the PSD in the Assembly of the Republic.
Of the 63,883 users, 17,075 do not have a designated family doctor, according to a response from the Ministry of Health on October 18, which Lusa had access to on Tuesday.
The ministry also says that during the last job competition, eight vacancies were opened, which corresponds to the number of absent doctors.
The medical center employs 25 doctors and 35 nurses, who are distributed among three family health departments – US Navy Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, US Navy Rainha D. Leonor and US Navy da Tornada – and four medical departments: Rostos (A dos Francos), Alvorninha, Santa Catarina and Foz do Arelho.
According to the guardianship, in the first case there is a partnership with the municipal council of Caldas da Rainha and the parish council of Landal and A dos Francos, which has made it possible to “deploy more medical specialists, a measure that has become a noticeable benefit for those in the population and the reduction in the number users without family doctors.”
In Alvorniña, the doctor providing the service “ceased his duties” at the end of September and, together with the parish council, “access to medical consultations was ensured for the users of this parish” at the headquarters of the municipality, with the municipality guaranteeing transportation support for users.
“As this is an emergency measure, it is expected that the situation will change as soon as it is possible to guarantee the number of medical work hours,” the guardianship explained.
In Santa Catarina, “the presence of a health worker is provided as a service two days a week,” he noted.
In Foz do Arelho, a partnership was initiated in September with the relevant parish council, which provides transport for users to consultations at the municipality’s headquarters, a measure that has “brought improved access to consultations and greater user satisfaction.”
The ministry also noted that, together with the municipalities, the Regional Health Directorate and Vale do Tejo, a program was implemented to accommodate interns and specialists through the provision of housing “with the aim of better integration in the communities.” “