"The League is extremely concerned when there is a decrease in accessibility to diagnostic aids," said Vítor Veloso, president of the Portuguese Cancer League (LPCC), in a statement to Lusa, commenting on the difficulties in accessing breast and thyroid ultrasound appointments through the National Health Service (SNS) in six of the 14 districts where Unilabs provides these services.

For Veloso, "the impact is worrying, as it could potentially increase the wait time for this diagnosis and, consequently, delay, in the case of cancer patients, a situation that absolutely needs to be clarified."

According to a survey conducted by Lusa on August 14th, which remains current, on the official website of the company that claims to be the national leader in integrated clinical diagnostics with over a thousand units nationwide, those serving the districts of Braga, Faro, Lisbon, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, and Viseu had no available appointments for these two diagnostic exams through the SNS, returning a "no results" search.

However, if the appointment was made through insurance or as a private client, the situation was reversed, with appointments available in most of these districts within a period of between five and 26 days.

The exception to the rule was found in the units serving the district of Faro, where there were also no appointments for these ultrasounds through insurance or private clients, and in the district of Viseu, where it was also not possible to schedule a breast ultrasound through health insurance or private clients.

At the time, Unilabs, when questioned by Lusa, admitted that "in some geographic areas and types of exams," there was already "indeed some difficulty in access," emphasizing, however, that the lack of updated prices agreed upon over 15 years ago hinders the availability of specialists to perform these exams.

To this day—and according to new research conducted by Lusa—the situation remains the same with the exception of Braga, where it is now possible to schedule thyroid ultrasounds through the SNS, albeit for 64 days in the future. However, if you have insurance, you can have the same exam within three days.

Although it has not received specific complaints about this situation, the Portuguese League Against Cancer has reported wait times of "several months" for first appointments, longer than what is stipulated by law.

According to the League president, delays are widespread throughout the country, whether for exams, specialist appointments, or surgeries, with particular concern being lung and pancreatic cancer, which require rapid responses.

Vítor Veloso emphasizes that increased wait times have a negative impact on patients, potentially leading to a worsening prognosis and increased costs for the Unified Health System (SUS), since "the more advanced the disease, the higher the cost."

He believes that the lack of updating the prices paid by the State to private providers, which have been frozen for 15 years, cannot justify the lack of solutions. He even finds it strange that "the issue of ultrasounds cannot be negotiated when other complementary diagnostic methods have recently been the subject of an agreement."

The president believes that, although not alone, the State "is largely responsible" for the situation by failing to comply with the ordinance that requires the annual review of the price lists, and argues that negotiations should be conducted "in a timely manner" to avoid compromising patient access.

Lusa questioned the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS) – responsible for agreements with the sector – about the difficulties in accessing exam appointments through the NHS at private health providers, and has not yet received any clarification.