With the seal of the Grupo Hospital de Loulé and a clinical staff of more than 70 specialists, the Clínica Internacional de Olhão changed the face of private health services in the city, facilitating access to differentiated health services at a time when the offer was practically nonexistent. According to the administrator, Ricardo Calé, when the clinic opened, had three main purposes: to provide a Permanent Medical Care Service, which did not exist in the city, to be a space that would aggregate as many specialties as possible and at the same time create a unit of Radiology. The administrator emphasized that the opening of Permanent Care was what differentiated the clinic, in a first phase, "because people recognized as an added value for the city the fact that they can have access to a permanent doctor, even on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays ". In order to respond to an increasingly large resident and floating population, the Clínica Internacional de Olhão will now expand to a contiguous store and occupy a space equivalent to five stores, increasing, until the beginning of 2019, the current 18 offices for 24. The clinic has two reception, one for permanent and outpatient care and the other for radiology services, which allows for faster and more personalized service, such as carrying out exams in a more privacy environment. Located on the top floor of the Algarve Outlet commercial area (former Ria Shopping) in Olhão, the clinic closes daily at 10:00 pm. The Permanent Service, which operates without prior appointment, is available every day until 9:00 pm.

Interview

Ricardo Calé, administrator of the Clínica Internacional de Olhão

What is the balance from these two years of the Clinic's activity?

Our main challenge continues to be to present to the community this important integrated health response that now exists in the city. There is still a considerable set of society that does not know the services available. We start from zero, but we do not leave with one or two specialties, nor with one or two days of consultations. We started from scratch with more than 60 specialists and a medical and nursing team prepared to provide immediate support in the emergency room. Of course, the pressure was too great, but the pressure quickly reversed and now the challenge is to respond to the high demand, which has required an increase in our capacity to respond.

In what specialties or services has the most been reflected in the increase in demand?

The most demanded specialties are Gynecology and Obstetrics, Orthopedics and Dental Medicine. We have consultations of these specialties on almost every day of the week. Regarding dermatology, for example, we have made an investment in all the technical means necessary to perform small surgeries and we have just acquired the necessary equipment for the removal of mole. There was much demand for this type of procedure and people were forced to move to another city to do so. We also made a very large investment in the specialty of Ophthalmology. Apart from the medical specialties, we have made a great bet in the area of Radiology, which turns out to be a very important asset in any specialty. We have the only answer in the area of Radiology in the city of Olhão.

Did raising of the residents from another nationalities in Olhão also contributed for this increase?

Yes, the difference is felt, but most of the demand continues to be exercised by the Portuguese. Demand from foreigners is around 20%, and we are mostly talking about French, English and Italians. The clinic has appeared at an important stage of growth in the city itself, helping to deliver an integrated response in terms of health care.

Do you consider that the provision of quality health care in areas with tourism is decisive for the affirmation of the destination?

People looking for a tourist destination privilege quality, services and safety. Our clinic allows us to answer the last two factors. When there is an urgency, the hotels of the city have direct contact with the clinic and are the own receptionist

that automatically make the client's contact directly with us. Thus, we have been able to provide a faster service perceived by the user as a personalized response. We are careful to have among our receptionists and medical assistants people who speak English, French and even German. Because we know that proximity in communication brings comfort and, above all, the user has to realize that when he arrives at our facilities, in addition to having the comfort of a medical team that gives him immediate support, the whole structure is prepared to solve your problem. And our whole team is focused on that purpose.

What projects has the clinic developed in terms of preventive medicine directed to the community?

From the beginning we considered that we had a degree of social responsibility towards the city, even more having behind it a structure as strong as the Grupo Hospital de Loulé. We started in the first phase to support most clubs in the city and we are now partners with more than 80% of the clubs in Olhão. We do sports exams at the beginning of the season, we provide medical support in case of injury to athletes and we also attend, with medical support at events. We can say that more than 3,000 athletes pass here every year.