Patient Dies After 18-Hour Wait in Coimbra Emergency Room

A 66-year-old patient died after waiting 18 hours in the emergency department of Coimbra General Hospital. His body was discovered long after he had requested basic care from staff. The incident has prompted an official investigation and new safety measures for emergency patients.

The patient arrived at Coimbra's Local Health Unit (ULS) and was triaged as an urgent case under the Manchester Triage System. This classification required medical attention within 60 minutes. Despite this, he waited for over 18 hours before being found deceased.

Nearly three hours before his body was discovered, the man had asked nursing staff for a blanket and water. During his wait, he missed two calls for examination. Hospital staff later marked him as administratively discharged, assuming he had left the facility.

This incident follows a similar case in November 2024, where another patient in the yellow triage category died after an eight-hour wait. Since then, Portuguese hospitals have reduced average wait times for yellow triage patients by 15-20%. By early 2026, reforms and extra staffing cut the typical wait from 4-5 hours to 3-4 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

In response to the latest death, the Portuguese Health Regulatory Authority (ERS) ordered ULS Coimbra to guarantee timely medical care for emergency patients. The hospital must now reassess patients whenever the Manchester Triage System's response time is exceeded.

The ERS directive aims to prevent further delays in emergency treatment. ULS Coimbra has been instructed to enforce stricter monitoring of patient wait times. The changes follow a pattern of reforms introduced after previous failures in triage management.