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.
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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”.