Healthcare system, public health, medical news, and wellness updates from Portugal.
The 2026 Lancet Countdown puts older people in Portugal at 16.3 heatwave days each last year, and attributes about four in five of the average resident's heatwave days to climate change. What the data say, and the DGS advice.
The Northern Doctors' Union says Porto's public cancer hospital is down six anaesthetists and is cutting consultation time at patients' expense. The hospital admits a shortage, defends 20-minute slots and says operations are up 2.2 percent. What the legal waiting limits are.
Patients were moved to another wing again as the Trás-os-Montes health unit disinfested an inpatient area in Vila Real. No patient was affected, it says, but planned operations face delays. What patients should know, and how to deal with ticks.
INFARMED's August reports: patients paid 650.3 million euros for reimbursed medicines in pharmacies, 2.4 percent more than in 2025, while the SNS paid 1,338.5 million and hospitals spent 1,828.4 million. How to keep your own share down.
The Health Ministry says firms that drive SNS patients to dialysis, cancer treatment and other non-urgent appointments will join the fuel aid decree. No amount or start date yet; the ambulance league has suspended its protest and opens talks today.
Texts in the name of SNS 24 claim you owe an urgent payment and have five days to settle it. SNS 24 says it never sends payment requests. How to spot the fake, and what to do if you clicked or paid.
A study of 1980 to 2025 data finds tropical nights rising by about 0.7 a decade nationally and by more than two a decade near the Spanish border. What it measured, this summer's run of hot nights, and the DGS advice on heat.
