More and more foreigners are signing up to the National Health Service (SNS), even using hotel addresses, to gain access to free treatments and medication. They end up doing “medical tourism”, getting what they want and returning to their countries.
This phenomenon began to be noticed in recent years, namely with the so-called “birth tourism”with foreign pregnant women traveling to Portugal to have their children in the SNS hospitals that it’s free and best than the health systems of their countries of origin.
They are, for the most part, pregnant women from the PALOP (Portuguese-speaking African Countries), with emphasis on Angolans, Guineans and Cape Verdeans. But in recent years, cases of pregnant women in countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan??
The alert for this new trend reached the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) after the case of the Indian pregnant woman who diedduring childbirth in a hospital of the SNS.
The baby was in intensive care and the SEF suspects that this woman and her husband, who accompanied her to Portugal, may have been helped by “illegal immigration mafias operating on the Balkan route”, as stated by the Express??
In addition to the free and efficient services provided by the SNS, some of these pregnant women may be interested in obtain Portuguese nationality for their children, to speed up processes of regularization as immigrants.
“They come and get it, they come back and they come back when they need more”
But, in addition to pregnant women, there are other citizens who are also taking advantage of the free SNS, namely to obtain medicines and vaccines that are very expensive in their countries.
“After the case of the baby who received the drug for spinal muscular atrophy, which cost €2 millionemerged brazilian couples who traveled to Portugal to try to treat their children”, reveals a source heard by Expresso.
many foreigners do provisional registrations in the SNSjust with the name and even using the address of hotels, to have access to vaccines, medicines or treatments, as the weekly found out.
the medicines antiretrovirals and pre-exposure to HIV (PrEP) are among the most sought after, as are those intended to treat cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“They arrive at the health center only with a passport, some have been in the country for three days, and make a sporadic subscription. They come very well informed on how to enjoy everything”, reveals a nurse from Cascais to Expresso.
“We receive people from all over the world, but the most frequent are Brazilian citizens?? They ask for treatment for HIV or syphilis, pregnant women or new mothers, even with infected babies, vaccines or the most expensive tests”, adds the nurse.
“We still have women, especially Angolans, who they only come to ask for the paper to abort in clinics paid for by the SNS”, points out the health professional.
There are even “sites in the countries of origin, especially in Brazil, that teach you how to use the SNS free of charge“, reveals to Expresso a leader of the Order of Doctors.
Doctor Inês Mendes also points out that there are “Americans who only come to ask for treatment for HIV and PrEP and other nationalities who want medication for chronic diseases, for example. They tell me that they ask here because in their countries it is very expensive“, he reveals to Expresso.
These foreign nationals obtain medical prescriptions valid for six months and end up picking up packages for several months. “They come and get them, they go back to their countries and come back when they need more“, points out Inês Mendes.
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