Primary health care in Cascais and Sintra strengthened by private hospital

The primary health care response in the municipalities of Sintra and Cascais will be supported by a protocol with the Cascais Hospital, which operates in a public-private partnership in accordance with the Emergency Health Plan approved by the Council of Ministers.

The municipalities of Sintra and Cascais have a high level of users without a doctor and family, and this partnership will reach more than 75 thousand users.

The document to which Lusa had access indicates the existence of more than 110,000 users without a family doctor in the municipality of Cascais and in five parishes of the Sintra council, whose health centers were integrated into the Local Health Unit (ULS). West Lisbon and ULS Amadora Sintra.

According to the plan, the Cascais Hospital has “sufficient and accessible” installed capacity to meet the medical needs of these 75,000 users, as well as to ensure the implementation of all additional diagnostic and therapeutic facilities considered necessary.

There will also be a dedicated helpline for users who need access to a doctor on the same day.

The plan’s authors believe that integrating the SNS 24 line into this process is “essential” because it is a “valuable resource” that “can be adapted” to meet this need.

At the first stage, it is assumed that the helpline will call users who do not have a family doctor with the aim of assigning them a physician assistant in social sector institutions.

At a later stage, users, if they do not have a designated doctor, will be able to proactively contact the helpline when they need a physician assistant.

The health emergency plan is divided into five priority strategic areas.

Regulating access to care by ensuring patients are cared for within clinically recommended time frames is one pillar of the plan, which also aims to create a safe environment for childbirth, strengthen emergency services, address problems with access to primary health care and guarantee access. to services capable of providing mental health care.

For each area, the plan provides for urgent measures that must be implemented immediately in order to obtain results within a period of up to three months; priority planned to achieve results by the end of the year; and structuring with medium-term planning and application.