Private hospitals are already a quarter of the beds – TVI24

Private hospitals now account for a quarter of beds in Portugal. But there are more numbers to check the growth of these units, even in times of economic crisis: 28% of outpatient visits and 12% of emergencies are performed in hospitals in the private network

More and more private hospitals. in Portugal and the work in these units has also been increasing.

This year, despite the crisis, the private health units are growing more than usual: “15 to 20%”, according to the Portuguese association of private hospitalization. Speaking to TVI , Artur Osorio, president of the association said that this increase is not only bankrupt the National Health Service.

According to the latest data from the National Statistical Institute in 2012 the private had almost 10 000 beds, an offer that matches more than one quarter of the availability of hospital stay in the country.

With over 25 000 employees, over 105 private health units are responsible by 5.5 million annually, consultations and 160 thousand surgeries.

In April, a balance over the period 2002-2012, from a survey of hospitals, the national statistical institute concluded that, in a decade, official units had lost about three thousand beds, while private have greater 1400.

The INE also found that the number of private hospitals grew in this period (from 94 to 104), while hospitals remained protected by the state.
The growth of the private sector due to the opening of large hospitals belonging to higher economic groups.

In ten years, attendances at emergency almost doubled from 420 000 in 2002 to over 800 000 in 2012

In the same ten years, the institute found a surprising fact: the abrupt decrease in total medical tests and examinations recorded in public hospitals – about 44 million less, a fall of around 27%. Simultaneously, private units substantially increased the activity in these two areas.