Hospitals across Portugal which provide cancer treatment are to be inspected following a negative report by the Ordem dos Médicos, the national order of doctors.
The Colégio de Especialidade de Oncologia Médica da Ordem dos Médicos, the oncology college of the order of doctors, will be responsible for inspecting all private and public hospitals starting this month.
The aim of the nationwide inspection is to establish whether the general problems found in February 2009 are still occurring, such as a lack of resources, lack of specialists and lack of cooperation between hospitals, and how these may be tackled.
Jorge Espírito Santo, from the oncology college of the order of doctors, said that one of the problems is the lack of several disciplines and complementary doctors in units.
“The diagnosis and treatment of cancer demand multidisciplinary work, which involves several doctors, but there is no team work and there are faults in the multidiscipline side because surgery is not enough, radiotherapy and chemotherapy,” he said.
This national inspection is due to start with the 15 hospitals that provide training to cancer specialists, followed by all other oncology units in the country.
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