Azoreans with stroke diagnosis to be treated in the Region - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

The Government of the Azores will introduce the thrombectomy procedure in the Autonomous Region of the Azores before the end of this year, so that patients in the Azores diagnosed with a stroke and for whom this procedure is clinically indicated can receive treatment within the Region.

The measure stems from a project presented by the Clinical Directorate of the Divino Espírito Santo Hotel (HDES) to the Regional Directorate for Health and will be carried out in partnership with the national community of Interventional Neuroradiology.

The Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, pointed out that “this implementation represents a decisive step forward in improving the quality of healthcare provided in the Region,” emphasising that the Azores “will no longer be the only Region in the country where this procedure is not performed.”

The aim of implementing this clinical service for Regional Health Service users is to avoid the transfer of patients requiring this procedure outside the Region. Between 2024 and 2025, 78 transfers were carried out to the Autonomous Region of Madeira for this purpose.

The Regional Secretary also highlighted other initiatives carried out by HDES, even in the wake of the constraints caused by the fire, notably the use of AI tools in radiology, which have improved diagnostic capabilities in emergencies and accelerated clinical response times.

Another notable project is the STOP Infection 2.0 programme, which has led to a significant reduction in hospital infection rates between 2022 and 2025, whilst also contributing to a reduction in the length of hospital stays and cumulative savings of over €400,000.

For Mónica Seidi, these measures demonstrate “the Regional Health Service’s capacity for innovation, expertise and development,” adding that the Regional Government’s goal is to “ensure increasingly specialised, safe and accessible care for the Azorean population."

The project for the introduction of thrombectomy is currently in the planning stage and is expected to become operational in the final quarter of 2026.