Portugal’s SNS to Run Near-Weekday Hospital Services on Christmas Bridge Days

Portugal’s public health service is gearing up for the long Christmas-to-New-Year stretch by keeping more lights on than locals might expect. Although civil-service employees formally received extra days off on 24, 26 and 31 December, the National Health Service (SNS) promises activity levels closer to a regular weekday than a sleepy weekend.

Quick take before you head out

• Three “bridge days” — 24, 26 and 31 December — come with paid leave for most public workers, but hospitals will stay busy.

• Consultations, priority surgeries and urgent admissions remain on the roster; only non-essential operations are scaled back.

• Staff work in split shifts so some can rest while others run clinics, A&E and wards.

• Hospitals must still discharge patients on the holidays to free up beds.

• Expect crowded emergency rooms in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, where several units will close overnight.

Why these “bridge days” matter more than a normal weekend

For many Portuguese families, the combination of tolerância de ponto and statutory holidays effectively creates a five-day corridor of downtime. In health-care terms, that could be disastrous: influenza season is peaking, respiratory infections are multiplying and more than one-third of Amadora-Sintra’s population still lacks a family doctor. To head off a pile-up of untreated cases, SNS chief executive Álvaro Almeida ordered every hospital to work “above weekend capacity” during the break. The edict means diagnostic labs, oncology day wards and dialysis centres will open, albeit in slimmed-down mode, while family-health units extend phone consultations.

What remains open — and what slows down

Even with the guarantee of more activity than a typical Saturday or Sunday, hospitals must pick their battles:

• Priority surgeries (oncology, trauma, vascular) will proceed; non-urgent knee arthroscopies and cosmetic repairs wait until January.• Out-patient clinics focus on acute or time-sensitive appointments, keeping chronic follow-ups for later.• Obstetric and paediatric emergencies stay online 24/7; however, roughly ten A&E departments — mostly gynaecology and obstetrics in Greater Lisbon — will rotate shutdowns overnight.• Mental-health consults switch heavily to telemedicine, backed by an SNS24 campaign on suicide prevention over the festive season.

Contingency blueprint inside each hospital

Under a December directive from the Ministry of Health, boards had to submit two-month rosters mapping who works which day. The goal is to maintain discharge teams, imaging crews, pharmacy services and catering so wards avoid “holiday bed-block.” Where flu admissions spike, hospitals at contingency level 3 may cancel all elective theatre slots to release beds — a tactic already tested at São João in Porto and Santa Maria in Lisbon.

Persistent bottlenecks that no decree can erase

Even with extra hands on deck, structural snags linger. The Fernando da Fonseca Hospital begins the mini-break with some of the longest waiting times in the country, a by-product of chronic staff shortages and soaring demand from patients without primary-care coverage. Nationwide hiring caps — public payroll growth limited to 1.9% in 2025 — further complicate attempts to bulk up A&E rotas. Meanwhile, SNS24 logs a 17% surge in calls versus early December last year, foreshadowing tighter pressure on front-line units.

What it means for patients this weekend

Residents should brace for crowded triage lines but can take comfort that essential care will not grind to a halt. Those expecting planned procedures should watch their hospital’s website or text alerts; postponements will be re-scheduled. Families collecting relatives from wards on 24, 26 or 31 December are urged to arrange transport early, as discharge desks close mid-afternoon.

Looking beyond New Year’s Eve

Temporary measures cannot replace long-term reform. The winter response plan running through March introduces earlier roster deadlines, digital A&E check-ins and shared surgical theatres across regional networks. Political debate over a broader overhaul — from stronger family-doctor coverage to flexible staffing rules — will likely intensify once Parliament reconvenes in January. For now, the SNS hopes its holiday playbook will keep seasonal goodwill from turning into a queue at the emergency door.