Healthcare system, hospitals, and medical services in Portugal.
ERS data shows median ULDM wait at 56 days nationally, 134 days in the Algarve. INE puts 65+ at 24.3% of residents and dependency ratio rising 39 to 73 per 100 working-age. PRR's 3,000-bed target is slipping; OE2026 lines €245M.
Pre-hospital emergency technicians have called a 21 May 10h vigil at the Ministry of Health in Lisbon against the INEM Lei Orgânica approved by the Council of Ministers on 8 May. Four ex-presidents and the Workers' Committee back the critique — VMER, AEM and SIV transfers under fire.
Saturday 16 May Ministry of Health note to Lusa confirms specialists who left the SNS before the new diploma enters into force serve a one-year tarefeiro lock-out, not two — saving more than 2,000 doctors from a retroactive ban as the 31 December 2026 transitional window runs.
How to get your SNS health user number and join your local health centre: who qualifies, what to bring, the steps, and how to get a family doctor.
Nurses across Portugal walk into a one-day national strike on Tuesday 12 May 2026 — the International Day of the Nurse — at the call of the Sindicato dos Enfermeiros Portugueses (SEP). The strike covers the public Serviço Nacional de Saúde, the...
ERS H2 2025 monitoring file: 9,963 programmed surgeries at hospitais protocolados (-7%), zero cardiac procedures, oncologic down 30.8%. Vale-cirurgia channel executes 7.7% of the 3,493 documents issued. Cardiac queue closes 2025 at 2,703 patients.
Whether you need private health insurance, what visa applicants must show, waiting periods, pre-existing conditions, your rights, and the tax relief.
