Social affairs clog the emergency room of Amadora Sintra hospital

The Fernando Fonseca Hospital explained this Friday that the high number of beds occupied by social affairs is choking the emergency service, where patients stay longer than they would like, waiting for a free room in the ward.

The clarification from the Fernando Fonseca Hospital (HFF), which covers the municipalities of Amadora and Sintra, comes after the Nursing Team of the Emergency Services (SUG) asked to be relieved of responsibility, given that the necessary security conditions to provide care.

In a written response to the Lusa agency, the HFF board of directors acknowledges the receipt of the nursing team’s disclaimer and states that the pressure being felt on the service is the result of increased demand and in large part due to underserved population hospitalizations.

The service handles 400 emergencies daily, the hospital said, attributing this to more than 16 patients per hour, or an average of 2.7 patients every ten minutes.

Added to this situation is the “improper use” of emergency beds by users waiting for a response from social structures. To date, more than 15% of patients managed by HFF are social patients (85 patients),” notes the hospital, whose emergency services serve the largest demographic area in Portugal and the National Health Service, “with a population of over 550,000 users with very complex social and cultural characteristics”.

“The large number of beds occupied by clinically discharged patients awaiting a social response stifles the emergency service, where patients requiring hospitalization for treatment stay longer than desired waiting for vacant/beds for hospitalization in the ward,” emphasizes .

Faced with this situation, the hospital emphasizes that “a word of thanks” goes to the nurses and other professionals at SUG, who, it says, “with a missionary spirit and sometimes with great personal sacrifice, provide the best medical care to the population.” It is suitable.

To help care for discharged patients awaiting placement in a nursing home by the government, the hospital this week contracted for ten more social response beds under its own financial responsibility, currently accepting 106 patients outside of its facilities.

In addition, the hospital has leased 30 beds from the national continuing care network and 15 clinical beds, all of which are occupied and are “actively looking for additional social vacancies.”

At the same time, HFF home hospitalization has been expanded to ten beds in 2022 to free up inpatient beds, with plans to expand to 15 beds in 2023.

Excluding the departments of pediatrics, gynecology-obstetrics and psychiatry, the hospital has 635 inpatient beds with close to 100% occupancy.

Also, in order to reduce the load on the inflow to the LHG, a protocol was signed with two groups of health centers in the region with the allocation of 30 places per day for referral of less urgent patients (about 50% of emergency departments). visits).

However, patients must expressly agree to be transferred to a medical center, which reduces the effectiveness of the measure, the hospital says.