TMRG
Published 8 November 2026, 22:44
Tempos Máximos de Resposta Garantidos — guaranteed maximum response times
The maximum times within which the state health service must respond to you. They are set by Portaria n.º 153/2017. At the health centre: for an acute illness, the same day; for a non-acute matter, 15 working days; for a repeat prescription for a chronic condition, 72 hours. A first hospital appointment with a specialist on referral: 30 days if marked "very high priority", 60 for "priority" and 120 for the ordinary queue; if cancer is suspected, 7, 15 or 30 days. Planned surgery: 180 days from the date the doctor recorded the need for it; for cancer, 72 hours, 15, 45 or 60 days.
Where you come across it. A referral to a specialist, the waiting list for an operation, booking at the health centre.
A missed deadline is not a dead end. Attached to the same portaria is the Carta dos Direitos de Acesso: you must be told your place in the queue at any time, and if the hospital cannot meet the deadline, it must inform you and arrange treatment at another SNS facility or at a clinic contracted by the state. Complaints about a missed deadline go to the ERS.
Official website: data.dre.pt/eli/port/153/2017/05/04/p/dre