How good are the medical centers, hospitals and health clinics in Portugal, and how close are they?

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain...

The healthcare in Portugal was a sensitive issue for us for many years because until we joined the European Union we were an undeveloped country. We came from the two world wars then we went through a dictatorship then there was a revolution and the Communists took over and that made our country even poorer. As a result, Portugal’s medical facilities were not top of the line 30 years ago. But then we joined the European Union and as we joined the European Union, there are certain rules with which we had to comply, and the quality of our medical systems was one of them. At that moment, there were two or three really famous Portuguese businessmen who invested heavily in medical facilities and systems, so today, and for the past 10 years, we are at the same level as any other civilized European country. So we have very good medical facilities at the moment.  We are on par with France, Great Britain, etc.
 
There was a trend 10 years ago when there was a big boom in the construction of private hospitals.  In the last 10 years, the Social Democratic Party took over, and one of their measures was to develop the public medical system, so they built all these new hospitals and clinics. I come from a middle-high class family and I use the public medical system. I compared the public and private system because I have private medical insurance and I have a public hospital near by and I use both. I didn’t used to go to the public system because of it having bad reputation in the old days. But the other day, I had a problem with my son and I took him to the public hospital and I was impressed because I got better service than at the private hospital. I don’t know if it was a coincidence but the hospital was brand new with a very quick reply. I went in and out in an hour and sometimes that doesn’t happen in hospitals around the world. So I am very, very impressed with our public medical system at the moment.  

 

(View of Hospital São José from Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal, pictured.)