The consultations are conducted exclusively by Specialist Nurses in Maternal and Obstetric Health (EESMO), without the presence of doctors. Through this reorganization of care, the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Loures-Odivelas aims to “ensure close and safe monitoring for pregnant women”.
This solution “allows obstetricians to focus on more complex situations, reducing waiting times at a time when the demand for obstetrics services has been increasing,” stated ULS Loures-Odivelas in a statement.
The project, according to the ULS director of nursing, Sandra Cota-Pereira, marks “an important milestone for obstetric nursing, fulfilling the scope of its competence and ensuring the best access for pregnant women”.
“Nurses accompany low-risk pregnancies up to the scheduling of the delivery, similar to what this ULS already provides at the Woman and Child Health Space, in primary health care,” states the nurse in the release.
On September 23, Health Minister Ana Paula Martins mentioned in parliament that the Government was open to evaluating a proposal by the Order of Nurses aimed at “ensuring the monitoring of low-risk pregnancies by specialist nurses in maternal and obstetric health for women without a family doctor”.
The minister stated, during a Health Commission hearing, that “pregnant women cannot go without monitoring” and that “specialist nurses play a fundamental role in maternal and obstetric health, which is already a reality in many countries”.
Ana Paula Martins asserted that there was no reason “why this shouldn’t also be the model in Portugal”.
However, the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF) requested, a day after the Health Minister’s statements, that the proposal be reviewed and that a potential implementation of this approach “does not constitute a true solution”.
In a statement, the association argued that excellence in pregnancy care can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary and integrated effort, where each professional contributes with their specific expertise.
“Doctors do not replace nurses, and nurses do not replace doctors. Each profession has its unique and irreplaceable value,” the association remarked, adding, “The challenge is to find ways to enhance this complementarity for the benefit of the health of all Portuguese women and children”.
With the start of these new consultations conducted entirely by specialist nurses, ULS Loures-Odivelas intends to strengthen “the commitment to placing the right resources at the service of the right people, at the right time, ensuring quality, safety, and accessibility in pregnancy monitoring”.
ULS also highlighted the work of these specialist nurses in maternal and obstetric health, who are “recognized for their high scientific and technical qualification, resulting from specialized training with European standards”, reinforcing that these professionals “have been establishing themselves as a reference in assisting women, newborns, and families”.
