In the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel island, in December 2020 there were 9,807 people on the waiting list for surgery, against 8,351 in December 2021.

Looking only at the waiting list for minor surgery, it was 2,376 in December 2020 and 2,538 in the same period of 2021, which shows an increase of 162 users.

The waiting list for consultations, taking the period under analysis as a reference, was of 9,289 users in December 2020 and suffered a reduction to 8,923 people (-366).

First consultations at the Hospital increased from 2,871 to 2,981, taking into account the period under review, and subsequent consultations had increased from 7,564 to 8,678.

Nursing consultations also rose between December 2020 (1,862) and December 2021 (2,306).

According to a report by the Regional Health Directorate released in December, the number of users on a surgical waiting list in the Azores fell in November 2021 for the fourth consecutive month, standing then at 10,848, 1,392 fewer users than in the same period.

"In November 2021, a total of 10,848 people were waiting on the list for surgery, which corresponds to a decrease of 307 users compared to the previous month. When these data are compared with the same month of the previous year, there is also a decrease of 11.4 percent (1,392 fewer)", said the document published on the website of the Regional Health Directorate.