The project, authorised through an order published on 3 September in the Diário da República, will be financed under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

According to the order, the Ministry of Health has authorised the West Local Health Unit (ULS do Oeste) to proceed with the phased allocation of funds for the new ICU while the long-awaited new hospital for the Oeste region remains pending. The funding will be split between 2025 (€576,000) and 2026 (€854,000), plus VAT.

The project has been included in the National Network of Hospital Specialties and Intensive Care Referencing since 2021, the same year parliament approved recommendations calling for its urgent creation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospitals of Caldas da Rainha, Torres Vedras and Peniche struggled significantly due to the absence of an ICU in the region, forcing frequent patient transfers to Lisbon.

The new unit is expected to strengthen hospital capacity across the Oeste, a region steadily growing in population, while also relieving pressure on central Lisbon hospitals by reducing the number of transfers.

Elsa Baião, president of the ULS do Oeste board, said further details on the project will be provided at a later stage.

The ULS do Oeste brings together the Oeste Hospital Centre, which covers the hospitals of Caldas da Rainha and Peniche (Leiria district) and Torres Vedras (Lisbon district, along with the Oeste Norte and Oeste Sul health centre clusters. In total, it serves eight municipalities with a combined population of 242,000, according to 2024 figures from the National Statistical Institute (INE).

The ICU project is considered a crucial step in addressing local healthcare needs and improving emergency response capacity across the region.