The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (ANTEM) today denounced waiting times for help for users of more than an hour in various parts of the country.
In a statement, ANTEM mentions four situations that occurred last week (Thursday): three in the Algarve and one in Setúbal.
The association considers that these cases “represent a tiny fraction of what is normal”, in which the lack of resources left patients waiting for more than an hour.
According to the association, in the district of Setúbal an 84-year-old man with respiratory difficulties and a history of heart disease was kept waiting from 15:24 until 17:07. Reason: During that time there were no means were available.
In Faro, Olhão and Quarteira, resources were reportedly inoperable during the afternoon. In one of the situations reported, a 90-year-old man was waiting for help between from 16:06 to 17:35.
In another situation, a 41-year-old woman was waiting for an hour, and the waiting time was close to an hour and a half in the case of another 23-year-old woman.
According to ANTEM, the Algarve and the Lisbon and Tagus Valley regions are the most affected by the “manifest inability of the National Institute for Medical Emergency [INEM] to effectively manage the resources at its disposal through the Integrated Medical Emergency System”.