Thirty patients who are medically fit to leave hospital, but still require appropriate accommodation or social care, are expected to be transferred from Madeira’s hospitals into private social solidarity institutions.
The measure is intended to free hospital beds for patients requiring acute medical treatment and reduce the risk of further operations being cancelled because no beds are available.
Regional Government President Miguel Albuquerque stressed that nobody would be discharged without somewhere suitable to go.
“We are not going to put anyone on the street,” he said during a visit to Machico Health Centre.
The announcement follows a period of considerable pressure on Madeira’s hospitals. On the evening of the 26th of August, 45 patients were reportedly waiting in the Emergency Department at Dr Nélio Mendonça Hospital for an inpatient bed. Visits to patients waiting for admission were temporarily suspended because of the high number of people in the department.
Although an earlier figure indicated that 51 patients had been awaiting admission, the number had fallen to 45 by the end of the day.
SESARAM said approximately 245 people remained in Dr Nélio Mendonça and Marmeleiros hospitals despite having completed the clinical treatment requiring hospitalisation. They could not leave because they were waiting for an appropriate care placement or another form of social support. Across all units operated by Madeira’s Health Service, the total number of people in this position was reported to be 518.
These cases are officially described as “problematic” or “delayed” discharges. The description refers to the difficulty of arranging suitable care following hospital treatment; it does not mean that the patients are being blamed or that they will be removed from hospital without support.
SESARAM said the continued occupation of hospital beds by people who no longer require acute treatment places significant pressure on the regional health service. Beds cannot be made available to patients waiting in emergency departments or those who need to be admitted following surgery.
The lack of available beds has already resulted in operations being cancelled on several occasions.
Following discussions between the Regional Secretariats for Health and Civil Protection and for Inclusion, Labour and Youth, Madeira’s Social Security Institute confirmed that 30 supported-care places would be made available. Seventeen places became available on Thursday, the 27th of August, with a further 13 expected to follow in the coming days.
The Regional Government is negotiating with private social solidarity institutions, known as IPSS, to provide appropriate placements. Albuquerque said these organisations could offer suitable care at a considerably lower cost than keeping someone in hospital.
According to the Regional Government, caring for a person in hospital costs approximately €110 per day, compared with around €62 per day in an IPSS facility. The necessary funding was expected to be considered by the Governing Council.
Albuquerque acknowledged that the shortage of hospital capacity is a serious problem affecting health services in Madeira and elsewhere. He said the immediate priority was to make greater use of existing social-care facilities while developing additional permanent accommodation.
A further 173 care-home beds are expected to become available by the end of September. Six new residential homes are also under construction and are expected to provide additional capacity for people who can no longer live independently after leaving hospital.
The Regional Government is also preparing to adapt the former school in Ponta do Pargo into a supported accommodation unit.
Underused areas of Seixal Health Centre are being considered for a similar purpose. Surveys and plans for both projects are reportedly being prepared, although Albuquerque said completion dates would depend on the administrative and legal procedures required before construction work could begin.
SESARAM described the 30 newly available places as an important step but stressed that delayed hospital discharges require a continuing and coordinated response from both health and social-care services.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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