Flu Surge in Guarda: Hospital Delays Surgeries, Opens Care-Home Beds

For residents of the Beira Interior, the seasonal wave of flu has moved from nuisance to genuine strain. On Monday, the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Guarda quietly switched its emergency services to phase 2 contingency mode, signalling that the usual winter uptick has tipped into something far more demanding. Elective surgery calendars are being torn up, family doctors are rushing to fill vacant emergency shifts and social‐care homes are opening spare beds to keep hospital wards from overflowing.

Snapshot of what has changed

• Phase 2 activated on 5 January after a sharp rise in respiratory infections.

• Elective operations postponed for lower-priority patients.

• Consultation doctors redeployed to the Emergency Department.

• IPSS partnerships free up “back-up beds” in nearby care homes.

• Public urged to seek primary-care help or call SNS 24 before heading to hospital.

A winter storm in Portugal’s highest city

Guarda sits more than 1 k m above sea level, where January cold snaps often linger. That altitude, combined with an ageing population, makes the city a perennial hotspot for flu-related admissions. This year, however, clinicians say the surge arrived earlier and harder. Nuno Sousa, the unit’s hospital-care director, confirmed that the “first peak” likely hit over the first weekend of 2026 but warned of a traditional biphasic pattern: a possible second crest could follow within weeks.

Behind the decision to escalate, hospital dashboards were flashing red: the Emergency Department, designed for roughly 110 daily visits, recorded close to 180 entries two days in a row. Many arrivals were frail seniors with underlying cardiac or pulmonary disease, conditions that turn a routine virus into a life-threatening event.

How phase 2 reshapes the hospital day

Shifting to the higher alert tier triggers a domino of operational tweaks. The most visible for patients is the cancellation of non-urgent surgery, freeing anaesthetists and recovery-room staff to bolster front-line care. At the same time, consultations in Dermatology, Ophthalmology and other specialties have been pared back so that their physicians can cover observation bays.

Internists from Hospital Sousa Martins—the main acute unit in the district—now volunteer to triage or monitor cases even when they are officially off the roster. Their presence shortens wait times and speeds up discharge decisions, two metrics under heavy scrutiny after last winter’s criticism of nation-wide emergency crowding.

Community beds: the quiet lifesaver

Perhaps the most transformative measure sits outside the hospital walls. Newly inked protocols with the Associação de Beneficência Popular de Gouveia and the Casa de Saúde Bento Menni unlock dozens of convalescent beds. These spaces receive clinically stable patients who still need basic nursing, allowing acute wards to admit sicker newcomers. For rural councils struggling with limited transport and an ageing demographic, the arrangement keeps relatives closer to home and spares costly ambulance transfers to Coimbra or Porto.

Administrators stress that the scheme is not mere overflow parking; social-care teams receive updated treatment plans, and digital records follow each transfer to maintain continuity. The model echoes similar partnerships in Viseu and Bragança, regions whose hospital occupancy fell by up to 8 % last year after adopting community-bed strategies.

What citizens can do now

Health officials repeat a familiar but urgent plea: mask up in crowded indoor settings, keep respiratory etiquette, and think twice before queuing at the hospital for mild symptoms. Rita Figueiredo, who chairs the ULS board, advises residents to phone their family-health unit or 808 24 24 24 first. Many centres in the district have extended opening hours, and digital prescriptions can be issued remotely.

Patients who do need an emergency evaluation should arrive prepared: list current medications, bring ID and, if possible, an updated vaccination record. Those small steps, clinicians say, shave minutes off triage and speed up every downstream decision.

Incoming reinforcements

In a stroke of timing, the ULS welcomed 27 new residents—young doctors and pharmacists—on the same day phase 2 began. Though still in training, they add extra hands for medication reconciliation, clinical note-taking and patient education. Senior staff liken their arrival to "fresh legs" entering a long football match: morale rises, and workloads balance out.

Looking beyond the immediate surge

Meteorologists predict at least two more cold fronts before February ends, and epidemiologists caution that influenza B historically peaks later than its type-A cousin now circulating. Guarda’s experience may foreshadow similar moves in nearby districts; several hospitals in the Centro region are already hovering near their own phase-2 thresholds.

Yet health planners also see an opportunity. The current stress-test is accelerating conversations about tele-follow-up for discharged patients and permanent liaison teams with social-care providers—measures that could outlast the winter. For now, the message to the public is clear: stay vigilant, use primary care when you can, and help keep emergency doors open for the sickest among us.