Portugal’s first privately managed SNS health centre to open in August

Portugal’s first privately managed health centre serving patients under the SNS state health service will open on August 3 in the municipality of Torres Vedras, marking a significant milestone in the government’s effort to tackle the shortage of family doctors.

The new Model C Family Health Unit (USF-C) in São Pedro da Cadeira will provide primary healthcare to 5,463 patients currently without a family doctor.

The project had originally been scheduled to launch by the end of May, writes Expresso, but was delayed pending approval from the Court of Auditors.

Healthcare services will be delivered by KnokHealth Portugal, a Matosinhos-based clinical services company founded a decade ago.

Under a five-year contract worth up to €2.4 million, the company will operate from facilities owned by the Oeste Local Health Unit (ULS), which will oversee and coordinate all activity.

According to Oeste ULS president Elsa Baião, the beneficiaries are residents of São Pedro da Cadeira and part of Turcifal who currently lack access to a family doctor. The unit will be staffed by general and family medicine specialists, nurses and administrative personnel, providing the full range of primary healthcare services available through the SNS.

Baião told Expresso she expects three additional privately managed health centres to open before the end of the year in Óbidos, Bombarral and Caldas da Rainha. Together, those units would serve a further 32,828 patients without a family doctor.

The launch allows the government to claim progress on a flagship healthcare reform included in its Emergency and Health Transformation Plan two years ago. However, implementation has fallen well behind schedule.

The original strategy envisaged the launch of 20 privately managed health centres during 2024. That target has since been halved to ten units, while repeated delays and legal challenges have slowed the rollout by years.

The Algarve is meant to benefit from the next USF-C, with approval for a health centre in Silves currently being prepared for submission to the Court of Auditors.

Additional units are planned for Lagos, Albufeira, Loulé and Portimão, says Expresso.

But it has been heavy going: a planned unit in Lisbon’s Lumiar district was suspended following a legal challenge to the tender process. In Leiria, a procurement procedure failed after applicants did not meet the required standards, prompting authorities to prepare a new tender.

Greater Lisbon remains the region with the highest number of patients without access to a family doctor. Several health units, including Amadora-Sintra and São José, still exist “only on paper”.

Source: Expresso

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.