Syndicate says health service IT failure “continues to cause disruptions”

The failure in the SNS National Health Service computer system detected on Friday morning is still causing disruptions today – meaning people who want to purchase prescriptions at pharmacies (that are cheaper with SNS subsidies) still cannot do so; doctors still cannot prescribe through the system, or access appointments.

Maria João Tiago, from SIM, the Independent Doctors’ Union, told Lusa that the problem is affecting services essentially in the Alentejo and Greater Lisbon areas.

The extent of yesterday’s outage was played down by authorities, but for people caught up in it, it was soul-destroying. One mother told reporters that she had waited three years for an appointment for her young daughter, only for the day of the scheduled consultation to fall at a time when nothing could be done.

SIC Notícias adds however that a source from the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS) has said that, “in general terms, the system is operating normally”.

As to the reason for the glitch, so far no-one is saying.

Pushing for an answer yesterday, a source for SIM claimed “the silence, the lack of coordination, and the absence of uniform instructions worsen insecurity and push onto professionals the management of a crisis that is structural and organisational.”

Source: SIC Notícias

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.