Emergencies in the Azores reinforced with service at the Lagoa Health Center

The Lagoa Health Center, on the Azorean island of São Miguel, will have, from 4:00 pm today (5:00 pm in Lisbon), a daily emergency service until 24:00, for “care for less urgent situations.”

According to the São Miguel Island Health Unit (USISM), following the declaration of regional public calamity by the Government of the Azores, due to the closure of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo (in Ponta Delgada), the Lagoa Health Center This Urgent Care Service (SAU) will now be available from 08:00 to 24:00, for blue and green levels of urgency.

A fire that broke out in the Ponta Delgada hospital at 09:40 local time on Saturday (10:40 in Lisbon) and was only declared extinguished at 16:11 forced the transfer of all patients who were hospitalized to health units in São Miguel, on other Azorean islands and in Madeira.

According to the USISM note, the emergency service “consists of two medical offices and two spaces for carrying out nursing interventions, and complements the existing offer of emergency units”.

The SAL is located on floor -1 of the health center and access is via the side entrance, on Rua Francisco Carreiro da Costa.

Before accessing this service, users should call the Health Line 808 24 60 24, according to USISM, which recalls that there are basic emergency units open 24 hours a day in the Health Centers of Nordeste, Povoação, Ribeira Grande and Vila Franca do Campo.

Also, to access these services, users must call 112 (in case of emergency and/or accident) or the Health Line (acute illness, decompensation of chronic illness or other situations).

On Sunday, the Government of the Azores declared a public calamity due to the fire at the Ponta Delgada hospital and the regional secretary of Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, said that the health unit has already been subject to two inspections, but has not yet It is expected to resume normal operation of the equipment. An accounting of the damage caused by the fire has not yet been released, which may have been caused by an electrical problem.

At the time of the fire, 333 patients were in the health establishment and it was necessary to transfer 240, according to the head of the Health department.