Algarve health unit gains Albufeira apartment to house doctors

The Algarve Local Health Unit (ULS) can now house doctors in a two-bedroom apartment provided by the Albufeira municipality under a protocol signed today, according to its board president. The agreement supports temporary accommodation for doctors working at the municipality's Basic Emergency Service (SUB) or covering family medicine shifts. ULS president Tiago Botelho said high hotel costs in the region previously made recruitment difficult, as professionals often did not earn enough to cover lodging. The fully equipped apartment, owned by the municipality and jointly managed, can host two doctors simultaneously. It complements a similar arrangement in Loulé since May, and the ULS hopes to extend the partnership to Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António.