The president of the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) demanded on Friday that a health minister be appointed “competent for the role”, warning of the risk that current “catastrophic policies” could ultimately lead to the deaths of pregnant women and babies.
“Ultimately, pregnant women can die, children can die, and this is only due to the disastrous policies of this Ministry of Health, Ana Paula Martins, it is not due to anyone else, and we understand that these measures are destroying the SNS,” Joana Bordalo i Sa told Lusa.
Ahead of the weekend, when 10 emergency departments in obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics are scheduled to close, the union leader recalled that Fnam had warned and expected that “what is happening now was inevitable”.
“There is only one person responsible for this – the Ministry of Health. (Minister) Ana Paula Martins did not have the political will to reverse this situation, and this is due to the shortage of doctors,” he accused.
Asked whether the shortage of doctors covering emergency care is due to specialists submitting proposals to justify overtime in addition to the required hours, Joana Bordalo y Sa replied that she had been “delivered something, but it’s not even necessary to deliver it so that the emergency department cannot function.”
He stressed that the problem also arises in pediatric departments, in addition to obstetrics, “which are little talked about” and which “are also a drama.”
“What this health minister is doing is essentially closing down emergency obstetric care. This is not only in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley region, but also in Leiria and Caldas da Rainha, where a dramatic situation has occurred that Fnam regrets,” he said, referring to the case of a woman who allegedly was denied care at a hospital after a miscarriage, whose obstetrics department was closed.
The union leader also highlighted the situation at the Santo André Hospital in Leiria, where the emergency gynaecological/obstetric department will be closed until the 19th, and therefore pregnant women with planned births will have to choose between going to Coimbra or the harbour.
“It seems this is the new norm and the health minister is forcing pregnant women to travel 200 kilometres to give birth,” he accused, warning of the risks such a situation entails.
Joana Bordalo e Sa stressed that the FNAM continues to defend and demand a strong National Health Service, but “this also requires a Ministry of Health, a Minister of Health who is competent for his role, that is, a minister who can really serve the SNS, because this is not happening.”
“The Ministry of Health was faced with a problem that Fnam had warned about, foreseen, warned about and had solutions to solve, but the ministry was unwilling to negotiate with doctors to have more professionals in the SNS at this time,” he said.
“If everything had been done on time when they took office, if we had had a continuous negotiation process capable of bringing back and keeping doctors in the SNS, perhaps the situation would not have been so dramatic and there would not have been so many professionals leaving the SNS,” said Joana Bordalo e Sa, insisting that what is needed at this moment is to have “people competent for the position and function.”
“If something serious happens to a baby, a pregnant woman or a child, there will only be one person responsible and that needs to change. It needs to be a priority for the government itself,” he said.
The union leader complained about the “intransigence and inflexibility of the attitude towards doctors” and assured that Fnam would continue to protect the 31,000 SNS doctors, of whom 10,000 are interns, and “we must be protected.”
“The decision not to negotiate with doctors was taken by the ministry of Ana Paula Martins. This problem needs to be resolved urgently,” he stressed.
According to the Fnam president, most doctors have already exceeded the legally required 150 hours of overtime and 250 hours for full-time professionals.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.