Joana Bordalo e Sá
Portuguese oncologist
Photo: Catarina Martins, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
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- Oct 19
Portugal's national health system goes down, blocking prescriptions and patient records
The outage began around 10:00 on Monday, 19 October 2026, and Fnam says thousands of patients were left without consultations and medicines. SPMS blamed problems at its data centre, and some systems were back by 12:00.
- Jun 16
Portugal publishes rules for temporary doctors amid warnings of rural care collapse
A decree-law published on 16 June introduces penalties for no-shows, restricts hiring of former NHS doctors, and allows staff physicians to work as temporary doctors elsewhere, but medical unions warn it will accelerate the exodus from the public system and worsen inequalities between urban and rural hospitals.
