“According to data extracted on 19 August on the SNS’s healthcare movement, data accumulated from January to July, from 2010 to 2024, it was found that the SNS has never performed so many surgeries as in the first half of 2024, with 466,668 patients operated on. Compared to the same period in 2023, there are 8.5% more surgeries performed, almost 40,000 more surgeries”, said DE-SNS in a statement.

The DE-SNS believes that these figures show that the SNS “is fulfilling its mission, guaranteeing citizens access to healthcare”, associating the greater number of surgeries performed with the greater number of consultations, which “also led to more people registering for surgery”.

“Despite an increase in the number of people registered, the SNS responded with almost 40,000 more surgeries and a slight increase in the waiting list for surgery of 0.3%. 20,666 surgeries were performed on cancer patients between the start of OncoStop, between May and August, including almost all of the 9,374 surgeries that were on the oncology LIC [list of people registered for surgery] on April 30, the date that marks the starting point of Oncostop [a plan that aims to regularise the waiting list for oncology operations]. The surgeries that were not performed are scheduled”.

The DE-SNS says it is monitoring the situation and has instructed local health units to assess the possibility of scheduling patients above the maximum guaranteed response time (TMRG) “by the end of the year”.

“The data also indicate greater access to surgical care, with an increased number of patients being registered on the waiting list, 6.7% more than in the same period in 2023”, adds the DE-SNS statement, which considers the increase to be a reflection of greater access to the SNS, with more consultations, diagnoses, and surgeries performed.