Access to hospital emergency departments will be very limited this weekend, with 12 A&Es closed on Saturday and 15 on Sunday, according to data available at midday this Friday on the National Health Service (SNS) website.
On Saturday, the effects will be particularly noticeable on the southern bank of the Tagus in terms of obstetrics and gynaecology, with the closure of emergency departments at the São Bernardo Hospital in Setúbal, the Garcia de Orta Hospital in Almada and the Nossa Senhora do Rosario Hospital, in Barreiro.
The pediatric emergency departments at Barreiro and Setubal hospitals in the area will also be closed.
Still in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, users will have to look for alternatives given the closure of the Obstetrics Emergency Department at the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, the Paediatrics Emergency Department at the Beatriz Angelo Hospital in Loures and the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the Santarém Hospital.
In addition to these closed emergencies, in the Central Region, the obstetric and gynecological emergency departments at the Santo André Hospital in Leiria and the das Caldas da Rainha Hospital are also closing. In the north, the pediatric emergency department at the de Chaves Hospital will be closed, and in the south, it will be impossible to access the obstetric emergency department at the Portimão Hospital.
With regard to the mentioned emergencies, the Extra Paediatric Care Service in Viseu is available from 09:15 to 23:00, while at the Amadora-Sintra Hospital the Paediatric Emergency Department will be open from 08:00 to 20:00, during the periods 00:00-08:00 and 20:00-24:00.
The Prof. Dr. Fernando Fonseca Hospital, known as the Amadora-Sintra Hospital, will also provide emergency obstetrics and gynecology care during the day, and the Beatriz Angelo Hospital (Loures) will provide emergency obstetrics and gynecology care 24 hours a day to CODU/INEM.
In the said departments, services are reserved for internal emergencies or are referred by the Patient Emergency Care Centre (CODU) of the National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM) or via the SNS 24 line.
A total of 12 emergency departments will be closed on Saturday, in addition to the three specified (with restrictions) and the two specified by CODU/INEM, while 155 emergency departments will remain open.
Conditions worsened further on Sunday, with 15 emergency departments closed and four directed to closed (with restrictions), reducing the number of open emergency departments to 153.
In addition to the 12 emergency departments closed the day before, on Sunday, in addition to the obstetrics and gynaecology department, the pediatric emergency departments at the Santo André Hospital in Leiria and the Rainha Santa Isabel Hospital in Torres Novas will also close. The emergency department at the Beatriz Angelo (Lores) Hospital and the gynecology emergency department at the Portimão Hospital will close. On the other hand, the obstetrics and gynaecology emergency department at the das Caldas da Rainha Hospital will reopen on Sunday.
In a statement released on Thursday, the SNS Executive Directorate warned the public of “restrictions in emergency services next weekend” and asked users to “always call the SNS24/SNS Grávida line 808242424 before going to hospital.”
In the same note, DE-SNS indicated the closure of 13 emergency services, but there will still be more restrictions, if we are to believe the data on the SNS portal.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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