The parlous state of the country’s State health service is not expected to improve through December as hundreds of doctors maintain their strike over more than the statutory hours of overtime. This morning, largely due to the long weekend, and closure of numerous A&E departments, Lisbon’s São José hospital reported that it had 70 patients waiting to be admitted onto a hospital ward; waiting for a bed to become available. Most of these sick people (50) had been waiting for more than 24 hours, said a source this morning. Hopes are that space will become available through the day.
