In a statement to Lusa, FNAM president Joana Bordalo e Sá explained that the problems began on Wednesday afternoon, with the system becoming very slow, and it was down overnight.

"Currently, in many units, it is still not possible to access patient records," she said, explaining that the problems affect both hospitals and health centres.

In response to Lusa, the Ministry of Health's Shared Services (SPMS) explained that the constraints resulted from an update carried out by NOS to the Health Information Network (RIS) software, which caused instability in the information systems, "affecting some healthcare support systems, particularly the Electronic Medical Prescription (PEM)."

"SPMS technical teams, together with the external operator, are trying to resolve the situation, with the expectation that services will return to normal this morning," it said.