Chronic problem of A&E will be solved by ‘complementary timetables’ at health centres

It is another day of ‘big announcements’ by heads of government. Following on from the assurance by economy minister António Costa Silva that “Portugal will have cheaper energy in the medium-term” (see brief below), health minister Manuel Pizarro has said that the ‘chronic problem of A&E’ departments the length and breadth of the country “will be solved by complementary hours opening up at health centres. Already 176 health centres have additional timetables, to cope with the winter ‘demand’ by health service users. But there are still plenty of areas where health centres barely operate at all (like Aljezur, in the western Algarve where council chiefs have appealed for a solution to the practical dearth of healthcare in the area).