Dr. Carla Évora Monteiro

Dr. Carla Évora Monteiro is the lead emergency physician at Hospital Agostinho Neto in Praia — Cape Verde's largest hospital and the primary national referral centre for acute and specialist care, serving the capital island of Santiago. With 11 years of emergency medicine experience, she is among Cape Verde's most senior emergency physicians.

Cape Verde's island geography creates unique emergency medicine challenges: patients from the remote outer islands (Fogo, Brava, São Vicente) often require evacuation by sea or air to Praia for specialist emergency care, and the hospital must manage a broad clinical spectrum — from tropical infectious disease emergencies to cardiac events in elderly patients and trauma from road accidents and construction injuries. The archipelago also receives significant numbers of tourists, particularly from Portugal, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands.

Dr. Évora Monteiro trained in emergency medicine in Portugal, where Cape Verdean physicians have historically pursued specialist training, and completed advanced certification through the Portuguese emergency medicine council. She returned to Praia to lead the emergency department at Hospital Agostinho Neto, implementing ACLS protocols and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).

Dr. Évora Monteiro completed her medical degree at the Universidade de Cabo Verde (UniCV) and undertook postgraduate emergency medicine training in Portugal, at the Hospital de São João in Porto — one of Portugal's largest university hospitals. She obtained specialist certification in emergency medicine through the Portuguese medical council (Ordem dos Médicos) and holds ACLS certification from the American Heart Association. She completed a tropical medicine course through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (online programme).

Dr. Évora Monteiro manages the full spectrum of emergency medicine in a busy island hospital emergency department. Her practice is distinctive in combining classic emergency medicine (ACLS, trauma, STEMI management) with significant tropical medicine exposure. She manages dengue haemorrhagic fever, imported malaria, and severe bacterial infections including typhoid and leptospirosis — all relevant to Cape Verde's subtropical climate and proximity to West Africa.

For cardiac emergencies, she manages STEMI, arrhythmias, and acute heart failure. She has established thrombolysis protocols for STEMI cases where primary PCI (performed in Portugal) is not accessible within timeframes. She is a trained POCUS operator and uses bedside ultrasound for FAST trauma assessment, cardiac function, and procedural guidance. For respiratory emergencies, she manages severe asthma, COPD exacerbations, and pneumonia.

Dr. Évora Monteiro consults in Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, English, and French. Hospital Agostinho Neto serves international tourists who experience medical emergencies in Cape Verde — a significant responsibility given the archipelago's 800,000+ annual international visitors, predominantly from Europe. English-speaking and French-speaking emergency care is available. Travel insurance companies with coverage in Cape Verde can liaise with the hospital's administrative office. For non-emergency consultation regarding tropical medicine risks and pre-travel health for Cape Verde, video consultation is available.

Dr. Évora Monteiro received the Associação Médica de Cabo Verde Award for Leadership in Emergency Medicine, acknowledging her contributions to building emergency care capability at Cape Verde's principal hospital. She has contributed to the development of Cape Verde's National Health Emergency System, including inter-island patient evacuation protocols for emergency transfers between islands. She has been an invited speaker at Portuguese emergency medicine society meetings and has published on the challenges of emergency care in small island developing state healthcare systems. Her work implementing ACLS protocols and POCUS at Hospital Agostinho Neto has materially improved the quality of acute care available to both the Comorian population and the archipelago's international visitors.