The long weekend, during which several health workers were off work, coupled with a shortage of doctors, put serious pressure on several hospitals yesterday morning. At the Fernando Fonseca Hospital (Amadora Sintra), the average waiting time for treatment of patients with a yellow bracelet reached 13:17, with 43 people waiting. One hour is the recommended time for cases of this type of severity. The situation was also difficult in the hospital in Portimão (6:41 am), Beatriz Angelo in Loures (4:30 am) and Santa Maria in Lisbon (3:38 am) for cases of the same degree of urgency. . However, the functioning of emergencies prompted the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine to point out “mistakes and errors in the proposals for the urgency of the health emergency plan.” The company notes that some 2,164 beds are unnecessarily occupied by patients who are having to recover outside their wards, in a situation that is limiting the functioning of hospital services. The shortage of specialists in internal medicine and the low attractiveness when choosing new doctors in this specialty were also noted in the presentation to the Ministry of Health: over the past two years, 250 vacancies have not been filled. The main department of the health care system noted that until April, 8,895 doctors worked in emergency situations. Of these, 3232 are general practitioners, that is, 36% of the total number.