Waiting times in the SNS: maximum response time exceeded in 92% of cardiology consultations
The maximum response time was exceeded in around 92% of cardiology consultations in the second half of 2023, with more than 23,448 users waiting for their first consultation at the end of this period, it was announced today.
According to monitoring of waiting times in the National Health Service (SNS), which was released today by the Health Regulatory Entity (ERS), in the second half of 2023, 19,642 first consultations were carried out cardiology in public hospitals, an increase of 0.3% compared to the same period in 2022.
In this period, “the TMRG [Tempos Máximos de Resposta Garantidos] were exceeded in 91.8% of cardiology consultations carried out”.
At the end of the second half of last year, 23,448 users were waiting for their first cardiology consultation, an increase of 52.2% compared to the same period, with 86.7% of these waiting longer than the TMRG.
In turn, it was accounted for 16,207 first consultations with suspected or confirmed cancer disease, all carried out in public hospitals.
However, the ERS highlighted that “the evolution of the number of oncology consultations carried out in public hospitals in the second half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 was not assessed, as in the second half of 2022 the Electronic Health Record in the Integrated Access Management System (SER-SIGA) was not yet in the implementation phase”.
The TMRG were exceeded in 61.7% of consultations carried out and 10,775 users were waiting, at the end of the year, for their first consultation with suspected or confirmed oncological disease.
With regard to patients waiting, the maximum response times were exceeded in 81.5% of cases.
The regulator also announced that, in the second half of 2023, 589,125 first specialty consultations were carried out at the request of Primary Health Care (CSP), a decrease of 2.6% compared to the same period, but this number does not include cardiology consultations or those with suspected or confirmed oncological disease.
In this case, the TMRG were exceeded in more than 56% of the consultations carried out.
The number of users waiting for their first appointment grew by 33.8% on December 31, 2023, reaching 778,640.
As for consultations carried out with registered providers, “in the second half of 2023, 33,563 first hospital specialty consultations were carried out — not including cardiology consultations, nor consultations with suspected or confirmed oncological disease”.
The maximum response times were exceeded in 30% of the queries carried out.
Patients waiting for their first appointment amounted to 27,055, 54.5% of which waited longer than the TMRG.
In public sector hospitals, 253,267 scheduled surgeries were performed, excluding cardiology and oncology surgeries, which corresponds to a drop of 0.4%.
Around 14.6% of users were subject to waiting times longer than the TMRG.
At the end of 2023, 185,444 users were on the registration list for surgery in other specialties, a 1.9% decrease in the number of patients waiting.
29,562 scheduled surgeries in the area of oncology were also performed in public hospitals, 0.1% more than in the second half of 2022, and at the end of the year 7,282 people were waiting for a scheduled surgery in the area of oncology ( +5.2%).
In public hospitals, 5.8% more surgeries were performed in the context of heart disease, with a total of 4,329.
More than 2,900 users were waiting for heart surgery, an increase of 1% on the waiting list.
In registered hospitals, 8,782 scheduled surgeries were performed, 75 oncology.
In the destination hospitals, “through the use of a transfer note or surgery voucher”, 12,253 program surgeries were performed, not including cardiology and oncology surgeries.
