According to data from the Regional Health Directorate, the number of people on the waiting list for surgery in the Azores increased for the second consecutive month in May, to a total of 10,192 registered people.

“In May 2023, a total of 10 192 users were waiting in LIC [list of those registered for surgery], which corresponds to an increase of 0.2% (23 more users), compared to the previous month. “Compared to the same period of the previous year, there is an increase of 0.6% (59 more users)”, reads the monthly newsletter of May of the Central Unit for the Management of Enrollees for Surgery of the Azores.

In April, the surgical waiting list had increased by 2.7% (265 users) compared to the previous month but had decreased by 0.4% compared to the same period last year (37 fewer users).

 The Divino Espírito Santo Hospital (HDES) in São Miguel island had the most significant number of patients on the waiting list for surgery (6 326) at the end of May, followed by Hospital Santo Espírito in Terceira (HSEIT), with 2 589 patients, and Hospital Horta in Faial island (HH), with 1 252 patients.

As for the number of surgical proposals on hold in the Azores (some users are registered for several surgeries), it was 11,310 at the end of May (two less than in April), having decreased in Ponta Delgada (0.1%) and Terceira (0.7%) and increased in Horta (2.1%).

Orthopedics, general surgery and ophthalmology with the longest lists

Waiting time:  One year

According to the report, the average wait time for surgery in the Azores at the end of May was 366 days (about one year), two days more than in April and 72 less than in the same period of the previous year.

It is in Ponta Delgada that people wait for the longest (390 days), but the hospital maintained the same average waiting time, unlike HSEIT (342) and HH (297), which increased by six and three days, respectively.

All three health units had an average wait time above the regulated maximum guaranteed response times (MRT), which foresees that a standard priority surgery is performed in a maximum of 270 days.

Only 59.9% of surgeries performed in May were within the MTRG, 2.8 percentage points less than in April.

Surgical output in May was higher than in April but lower than in the same period of the previous year.

“787 surgeries were performed. These figures represent an increase of 40.8% (228 more surgeries) compared to the previous month. In comparison with the same month of the year 2022, there is a reduction of 17.8%, that is, 170 fewer surgeries performed “, reads the document.

According to the quarterly report, which presents more detailed data, at the end of March, the surgical specialties with the highest volume of proposals on the waiting list were orthopedics (3,099), general surgery (2,274), and ophthalmology (1,695).

Most surgical specialties registered a reduction in the waiting list compared to the previous month, except orthopedics (239 more proposals) and pediatric surgery (32 more proposals).

Plastic and reconstructive surgery (733 days), orthopedics (438 days), vascular surgery (388 days), and general surgery (352 days) are the specialties in which users wait the longest for their surgery in the Azores.

All specialties registered an increase in surgical proposals on the waiting list except for vascular surgery.

In Diário Insular from Angra do Heroísmo—translated to English by PBBI (Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute) and MCLL (Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures) from Fresno State as a community outreach program. 

Exterior image from HSEIT