Dear Editor,
I am very pleased to read that there is to be a new hospital for the Algarve, built in Faro. I had reason to attend the existing hospital on two occasions regarding the health of my wife.
She has a heart problem and sometimes has attacks of arrhythmia. We have been advised by a heart specialist, that when this occurs, to attend the hospital immediately.
On the second attack, I telephoned them and gave them full details of the problem. They advised having an emergency ambulance but we insisted that we should go directly there rather than wait for the ambulance to arrive and possibly deprive someone who did not have transport to get to the hospital.
What followed was on a par with a 3rd World hospital service. We are residents and attending the hospital, we had to stand before an administration clerk who demanded our passports, name, home address, age and 9.20 euros, then being told to sit down and wait in the public area!
I ignored her and took my wife into the admission area directly, insisting that she was an emergency case and therefore could not just wait to see a doctor as the clerk had insisted. I was not allowed to stay with my wife in the emergency area by the security guards, although I was extremely concerned about her condition and felt she should not be left alone.
She had to wait another hour-and-a-half to be seen by the doctor, alone in another waiting room beyond the public one. (Time 01.45 on a weekday). In A&E, there was one doctor. The corridor to this area was lined with bed ridden patients, mainly geriatric, some shouting and others barely covered with bed clothes.
Having walked to A&E to see the doctor, she had to stand and wait for a further 15 minutes before having an ECG.
I heartily agree with (MEP) Mendes Bota that this new hospital will be out of date before it is finished. Unbelievably, there will be no cardio-thoracic unit, burns unit or scientific-medical unit.
It will also need twice as many beds as 549 are not nearly enough to serve this area.
Are there any readers who have had similar experiences?
Name and address, supplied
Dear Editor,
Yeah, like we really needed the stadium first, right?
It’s about time the Algarve gets a decent hospital, big enough to take the crowds especially in the summer time.
I think we deserve it, don’t you? It’s about time, can’t say it enough times…And please get people that know how to operate the machines, it’s not enough to have a new building, a competent staff is also in order, even if the staff has to be imported from Spain unfortunately.
Angela F., Faro
