The Chega party questioned the Regional Government of the Azores about the issue of social hospitalizations in the region. This is a practice that occurs when patients who no longer need clinical care remain in hospitals because they do not have conditions for discharge, occupying beds that could be used by other patients.
In May of this year, the president of the board of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, publicly admitted that there were more than 40 social hospitalizations at that hospital unit. This situation highlights the difficulties in coordination between healthcare and social services in the region.
Social hospitalizations represent a significant problem for the Azorean health system, as they contribute to the prolonged occupation of hospital beds and may affect the hospital's capacity to respond to new clinical admission needs.
The question raised by Chega comes in the context of these statements and aims to obtain clarification from the regional executive about the extent of the problem and the measures being taken to resolve the situation of social hospitalizations in Azorean hospitals.
