In January 2024, a new phase in the organizational reform of the National Health Service (NHS) started with the extension of Local Health Units (LHUs) throughout the country and the generalization of Model B Family Health Units (FHUs). The extension of the LHUs to the whole country aims to facilitate people’s journey through the health system by integrating hospital centres, hospitals, groups of health centres and the National Network for Long-term Care in a given geographical area into a single management system. It aims, among other things, to increase coordination between teams of health professionals, focusing on experience and pathways between the different levels of care, increasing management autonomy, maximizing access and the efficiency of the NHS.
Alongside, model B FHUs were expanded to 212 FHUs and 10 personalized health care units. Model B FHUs are groups of GP, nurses and administrative personnel that contract a “larger” package of care (compared to Model A FHUs) and are paid according to their performance regarding the indicators contracted with health administrations. Because the number of patients in the GP list can reach up to 3000 patients per GP, the transition from Model A FHUs to Model B FHUs is expected to decrease the number of NHS users who do not have a GP, thus increasing access to primary healthcare.
More information (in Portuguese): https://www.sns.gov.pt/noticias/2024/01/01/arranca-nova-fase-da-organizacao-do-sns