Obstetric emergency departments and maternity wards support the work plan until the end of May.

The Executive Committee of the National Health Service retained until the end of May the work plan for emergency obstetric-gynecological and maternity departments, which has been in force since the beginning of the year in the regions of the country.

The decision was announced this Wednesday in a statement and applies from Saturday until the end of May to “ensure the predictability and safety of emergency gynecological and obstetrical services, and National Health neonatology services and units.” Service” (SNS).

According to the organization headed by Fernando Araujo, 13 maternity hospitals in the northern region, seven in the central region and three in Alentejo will continue to operate without interruption during this period.

In the case of the Algarve, the maternity ward in Faro is scheduled to operate uninterrupted during April and May, while the maternity ward at the hospital in Portimão will operate on a limited basis over the weekend.

For the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, the plan calls for the uninterrupted operation of four maternity units – Hospital Santa Maria, Maternidad Alfredo da Costa, Hospital de Cascais and Hospital Garcia de Horta (Almada) – and nine with rotating openings. on the weekend.

With conditioned operation in this region, the maternity hospitals of the West (Caldas da Rainha), Medio Tejo (Abrantes), Santarem, Vila Franca de Shira, San Francisco Xavier, Fernando Fonseca (Amadora Sintra), Beatriz Angelo ( Loures), Sao Bernardo (Setubal) and Barreiro Montijo.

“The five institutions in Lisbon – Lisbon North, Lisbon Central and Lisbon West Hospital Centers, as well as the Fernando Fonseca and Cascais Hospitals – will share resources to ensure that their respective emergency and neonatology services are operational during April and May,” he said. . and Executive Management (DE-SNS).

According to the discussion for Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, DE-SNS “continues to pursue the goal of identifying approaches that will necessarily be temporary until the necessary human resources are recruited to avoid the total closure of maternity hospitals of institutions that are relevant” in the field of health care.

“Due to the evaluation of the effectiveness of Operation Safe Birth in SNS during these more than three months, it is preferable to continue the current methodology through April in a reasonable and prudent manner. and May 2023, and to conduct a new assessment at the end of this period, and the demand for answers and the difficulty of obtaining them have increased markedly, ”the document says.

Among other reasons, DE-SNS justified the decision to keep the plan for the next two months only because the holiday period, which is more intense between June and September, with limited availability of specialists, requires a special seasonal plan.

In addition, in the first season of 2023, a final examination of 28 new gynecologists and obstetricians is planned, which “will be a relevant reason for the retention of new doctors in the SNA,” according to a decree signed by Fernando Araújo for hospitals in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley.

This decision to keep the plan for these emergencies comes after a recent meeting between DE-SNS and hospital administrations and services in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, as well as with various organizations associated with the SNS.