Surgical waiting list reaches 13,945 patients in the Azores

In July, the Azores' hospitals had 13,945 patients registered for surgery, the highest figure recorded since data became available on the Regional Health Directorate's website in 2017.

The total was 8% higher than in the same month of 2025. During July alone, 1,150 new patients were added to the region's surgical waiting lists.

The average wait across the three Azorean hospitals was 498 days, 38 days longer than in July of the previous year. That average is more than one year and four months before an operation takes place.

Across the same month, 713 surgeries were carried out in the three hospitals. The number was 89 higher than in June, but 63 below the total recorded in July 2025.

The figures are included in the monthly bulletin of the Azores Central Surgical Registration Management Unit. The trend affects patients from across the islands who rely on regional hospital care and keeps pressure on the archipelago's surgical capacity.

In a statement, Regional Health Secretary Mónica Seidi highlighted increased activity in the first half of the year, when 4,353 surgeries were performed—3% more than in the equivalent period of 2025—along with more consultations, day-hospital sessions and examinations.