Uruguayan doctors to help during summer
25/7/2009

To cope with the growing number of tourists in southern Portugal and subsequent possible health issues, the Regional Algarve Health Administration (ARS) has introduced a ‘Summer Plan’ to recruit extra medical help particularly for the Algarve and the Alentejo, but given Portugal’s shortage of doctors it has turned to Uruguay to temporarily enlist medics from that country.

“We have to work with the available human resources and there are no spare doctors either in the private or public sector”, confirmed Rui Lourenço, President of the ARS.

He explained that, even with the shortage of doctors, around three dozen new medical positions have been created to better respond to summer visitors.

To overcome the clinical lapse, he added “a process to recruit doctors from Uruguay for the Algarve and Alentejo is currently in the final stages and is predicted to be implemented by the end of the year”.

This will improve situations such as that in Quarteira, where the local health centre, which was inaugurated in November 2001, has a notice on the door saying “We do not have an Emergency Service”.

For situations of “sudden illness or tourist consultations” patients may visit that centre from 20h00 to 24h00, otherwise patients are advised to make their way to Loulé’s ER unit – a considerable distance.

However, over weekends, that unit is generally chaotic due to the number of patients who come to the city, from the coast, or from the mountains.

Rui Lourenço believes that by reinforcing the INEM emergency medical response unit it will somewhat alleviate the lack of doctors that cripples southern Portugal during busier months.

Edition: 1020

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