‘Haja Saúde’ (Let there be health) will debate medical emergencies and the “Call First, Save Lives” programme, a national system of care and triage in emergency services, which has been in place since 2023 and has seen excellent results in several health units nationwide.  

The session will take place on Wednesday 13th November in the auditorium of the Camilo Castelo Branco Library and will feature speakers Nuno Cardoso, Director of the Emergency Department at Famalicão Hospital, João Marques, Clinical Director of the Primary Health Unit Network and Pedro Raúl, Head Nurse of the hospital's Emergency Department.

As of next week, the Emergency Service at the Médio Ave Local Health Unit will only be staffed by referrals via the SNS 24 line, the CODU, primary healthcare units, doctors or other health institutions, who will be responsible for referring patients, depending on their severity, for self-care, to the Health Centre or to the Emergency Service. The aim of this change is to improve care, with guidance corresponding to the clinical situation and the guarantee of an appointment at the Primary Health Care Centre within a maximum of 24 hours.

‘Go to the right place and don't risk waiting so long. And all it takes is one call’ is one of the system's arguments, with the advantage that users can wait in the comfort of their own homes until the appointment scheduled by the health services and thus avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room, often allowing truly urgent situations to be better attended to, in a gesture that can “Save Lives”.

“Haja Saúde’ is an initiative to promote health literacy and education, open to the whole community, developed by the Vila Nova de Famalicão Municipality in partnership with the Médio-Ave Local Health Unit and the Narciso Ferreira Hospital.

The session starts at 9pm and is free to attend.