The Ombudsman, María Lucía Amaral, reported to the Council of the Republic that there are complaints about “long waiting times (more than three years) for consultations and orthopedic surgeries”. It is also said that the lack of guaranteed maximum response times “increases difficulties” in accessing health services in a “timely” manner and that there is a “lack of coordination” between national and regional health systems.
The health system of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (SESARAM) has been criticized by the Ombudsman, Maria Lucia Amaral. In the report presented to the Council of the Republic, referring to the annual activity report for 2023, it is said that complaints made to SESARAM revealed that the right to access hospital health care in a period considered clinically acceptable “remains at risk” in the archipelago.
“In particular, complaints about long waiting times (more than three years) for consultations and orthopedic surgeries persist, which, together with the lack of guaranteed maximum response times, exacerbates the difficulties faced by the population in accessing health benefits in a timely manner,” the Ombudsman’s report says.
The service provider refers to the efforts made with the Madeiran Executive regarding the need to establish maximum guaranteed response times “in all non-urgent health services (consultations, surgeries, examinations)”. SESARAM was asked about the measures planned to improve waiting list management, giving as an example “the establishment of mechanisms for scheduled referral of users to other public units or agreed units, without excluding those located in mainland Portugal”.
The report notes that this problem has been mitigated by the use of additional production software, with the caveat that this solution “requires doctors to undergo overtime, with voluntary compliance.”
For the service provider, the “lack” of coordination between national and regional health systems in dialysis care was also evident.
“In particular, complaints have been received from patients with renal failure who receive dialysis treatment in mainland Portugal, reporting difficulties in ensuring the continuity of this treatment free of charge in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, in the event of temporary travel to the archipelago,” he denounces.
The service provider confirms that in light of this situation and “the absence of any doubt” regarding the right to free access to vital care, intervention with the competent entities has been strengthened with the aim of “ensuring adequate funding”.
The report adds that the Ombudsman’s intervention “sought to protect” the medical status of dialysis patients on the move, “and to make clear to interested parties that public funding is limited to treatments carried out within the public regional network (including public hospitals and private health institutions) (contracted units of the regional health service), based on prior referral from the National Health Service (SNS)”.
He stressed that “there are multiple situations that highlight the lack” of coordination between national and regional health systems.
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