What health professionals say

It is in a context of need that the company presented to us, Satélite Familiar, was founded, whose goals and services fill a gap in the healthcare provided to the population. (…) The progressive ageing of the Portuguese population, which has already reached very high levels, has raised many concerns, one of which is the provision of healthcare to this group, much of which it lacks. This care, and its many facets, has generated some debate, but, as far as we know, the conclusions it produced have not had the necessary practical application. Such is the case with the concept of the family nurse, whose definition, set out in Decree-Law 118/2014 of 5 August, is clear. And, although it extends beyond the older age groups, it is of primary importance for them.

The company presented to us, Satélite Familiar, can fulfil this mission and be an asset for the citizen, being an innovative and enterprising project. The challenge remains to meet our expectations and the needs of its users. (…) Portugal has one of the highest ageing rates in the world, with a sharp drop in the birth rate, an emerging and deeply worrying issue from a health standpoint for all Portuguese people. Nurses, through their competencies and experience, are surely the professional group best able to respond to citizens' needs (across the different life cycles: children, adolescents, adults, the elderly…), in illness as in health, contributing to a better quality.

The family nurse and the family substitute provide the relevant services of accompanying, but above all preventing, detecting and teaching the best care in managing one's health and that of one's relatives, promoting a better quality of life. More than an excellent nursing service, Satélite provides a 360º view of your family.

The existence of services like those provided by Satélite Familiar can be an important answer for many people and a help to families, so often faced with difficulty in caring for their relatives, who choose a professional and quality service. Support from nursing professionals across the most diverse situations, and help in managing illness, can contribute to a better quality of care. (…) Demographic changes with the ageing of the population, the greater isolation in which the elderly live, the increasing complexity of health situations, with the need to resort to multiple appointments and treatments, make this group of the population especially vulnerable. The isolation in which they live is the result of a conscious choice or secondary to reasons related to the professional or social activity of their children, and cuts across all social groups.