The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for pregnant women in the districts of Setúbal and Leiria who want to access emergency obstetric care. The three hospitals in the district of Setúbal that provide this service (Almada, Setúbal and Barreiro) have closed their emergency departments until next Monday.
The lack of doctors prompted Barreiro Mayor Frederico Rosa to classify the situation as “very worrying,” calling for “professionals to be valued and working conditions to be improved.”
Also in the district of Leiria, the Hospital das Caldas da Rainha is closing its emergency obstetrics department from Thursday to Sunday. In turn, the Santo André Hospital (Leiria) is closing from Tuesday to Sunday. The same situation is observed in the obstetrics department of Santa Maria (Lisbon). In Portimão, the closure will be from Tuesday to Thursday, and in Abrantes – on Saturday. Obstetricia de Loures is also closing on weekends. However, last weekend, this hospital transferred three pregnant women to private units, the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM) reported.
The data show that on Saturday two pregnant women were referred and on Sunday one was taken to private hospitals with which SNS has a protocol, such as CUF, Luz and Lusíadas in Lisbon.
The pediatric emergency department in Barreiro is also scheduled to close in the next six days. Loures is closed from Thursday to Sunday, Chaves and Setúbal on weekends, and Torres Novas on Sundays. The urgency scales published on the SNS portal therefore point to another very difficult weekend, with twelve emergency departments closed.
Author: Joao Saramago
Source: CM Jornal
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