Two Inquiries Open After Man, 87, Dies Following Portimão ER Wait
An 87-year-old man died after a long wait at Portimão hospital's emergency room. The Algarve health unit and the IGAS inspectorate will investigate.
Two separate inquiries will look into the death of an 87-year-old man who waited hours to see a doctor at the emergency department of Hospital de Portimão, in the Algarve. The Unidade Local de Saúde do Algarve (ULS do Algarve, the public health unit that runs the region’s hospitals) and the Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde (IGAS, Portugal’s health inspectorate) both confirmed to the Lusa news agency that they are opening investigations.
The man died early on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Neither the hospital nor the inspectorate has given a date for when their findings will be ready.
How the night unfolded at Portimão
According to SIC Notícias, as reported by Diário do Distrito, the man lived in Sagres and arrived at the hospital at about 17:00 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with abdominal pain and vomiting. At triage he was given a yellow wristband. Under the Manchester triage system used in Portuguese hospitals, yellow marks an urgent case, and the system recommends that these patients see a doctor within 60 minutes.
Accounts of the wait differ. Tiago Botelho, who chairs the board of ULS do Algarve, told Lusa that the patient waited “about 10 hours” before he was called at around 04:00. SIC Notícias put the call at 04:40, close to 12 hours after he arrived. When his name was called he did not answer, and nurses found him unconscious in the waiting room for yellow-band patients.
Staff began resuscitation and then moved to advanced life support, according to the incident report cited by SIC. The man did not respond, and his death was declared at about 05:00.
What hospital managers say
Botelho rejected reports that the man died in the waiting room. He said the patient was moved to the resuscitation room, where attempts to revive him failed. He also said the man had several other conditions, including a stroke some time ago and chronic illnesses, but that his symptoms did not point to a serious case, which is why he was triaged as yellow.
The man had no relatives with him. Botelho said he was sitting in a room where health workers and other patients were in view. Lígia Pires, the unit’s clinical director, told SIC that the room is under constant watch and sits across from the treatment room, next to triage. Asked whether staff only noticed his condition when he failed to answer the call, she said she did not have that information.
The hospital sent its condolences to the family, Diário do Distrito reported. So far, no direct link between the delay and the death has been confirmed.
A busier day than usual
Botelho said demand on Tuesday was higher than normal. The Portimão emergency department usually handles about 120 to 130 cases a day; that day it saw about 200. He said the extra pressure may have added to waiting times but that it was too early to say it played a direct role in this case.
What it means for emergency room patients
The case comes as public hospital emergency departments in Portugal face heavy demand during peak periods, CNN Portugal noted. A yellow wristband means a case is urgent but below the most serious levels, so these patients can face long waits when departments are crowded. The two inquiries will examine what happened in the waiting room and whether anyone is responsible.
What happens next
ULS do Algarve said it will look into the circumstances and any responsibility, and IGAS is running its own investigation in parallel. No timetable has been announced for either.
Sources: CNN Portugal, Diário do Distrito, Observador
