[Medical responsibility in hospital emergency services]

Questions of medical responsibility of doctors working at the emergency services of the public hospitals have been increasing during recent years in Portugal. Several reasons may be contributing to the present situation and some of them are analysed: the organization of the service, the triage, the team work and the co-responsibilization of the hospital administration. The sharing of the responsibility among these several entities is discussed within the framework of the Portuguese bylaws regarding the responsibility in general and that of the doctors in particular.