A desperate father, whose son was left to writhe in agony on the waiting room floor of Faro hospital, was confronted by security guards and police - so decided to ‘go private.’
Mario Castro was distressed that his son was in pain and vomiting blood while he sat waiting for a doctor to see the boy from midnight on Christmas day.
Castro was at the emergency waiting room of Faro hospital and eventually had had enough and protested against the excessive waiting time. Given the delay in treatment, he decided to confront a doctor and ended up threatening him.
Castro was not alone as three others waiting for treatment have made official complaints about the delay in treatment in Faro hospital emergency room during the night.
The hospital management, still headed by Dr Pedro Nunes, has opened an investigation into the matter to see whose fault it was that things got out of hand.
Mario Castro decided to go to A&E at Faro hospital as his child was "vomiting blood."
“When we arrived shortly after midnight, they put an orange bracelet on my son which indicates the severity of the problem," said Castro.
Time passed, and well after 01:00, with the boy writhing in pain on the ground, Mario broke down and decided to confront a doctor.
"He told me that anyone who was not satisfied could wait until morning before being treated. I changed my behavior and offended him," Castro acknowledged.
The hospital security staff intervened and the Public Security Police were soon on the scene.
"Suddenly I found myself with four security guards and two policemen around me. I nearly got arrested but decided to take the car and go to the private hospital (Hospital Particular) where they treated my son like he should have been treated here. I pay taxes but had to go to go private to get my son treated."
According to Correio de Manhã today, about 20 people we in the emergency area in the early hours of Saturday morning and for two hours, until after 02:00 those people guarantee that not one of them was called to be seen by a doctor.
The President of the Board of Directors of the Hospital of the Algarve, Dr Pedro Nunes, said that on Friday, at 03:00, there was a "user who protested most aggressively" about the waiting time in the emergency and the police were called to “calm the waters.”
Nunes said that the waiting time is "normal" for people who are screened and receive a green bracelet for ‘minor problems.’ According to Dr Nunes, these "should be treated in health centers."
"Emergencies evoke different reactions with some people remaining calm, others reacting with less patience, some with more alcohol in their blood, others with less, and these situations end up happening.
“Everything was resolved, the information that we have points to a 'quid pro quo ' (one thing in return for another) but even so we will open an enquiry on Monday into whether or not there was some professional irresponsibility," said Dr Nunes.
The Regional Health Administration of the Algarve announced today that the teams on duty in Faro Hospital’s emergency rooms have been strengthened to cope with a potential increase in demand.
The administration said that this measure was taken following an article published in the media on Friday that gave an account of alleged "chaos in Faro Hospital emergency room."
