In a letter signed by 28 internists, the specialists express their disagreement with the measures outlined in the publication “General Procedure – ADD.106 – Contingency Procedure for Obstetrics and Gynecology Emergencies,” dated July 7, from the Local Health Unit of Arco Ribeirinho, which includes the Barreiro Montijo Hospital Center.
The document, made public on Tuesday, indicates that Internal Medicine and General Surgery specialists will be required to assist postpartum women and gynecological patients when a gynecology and obstetrics specialist is unavailable and during emergencies.
The letter’s signatories assert that they possess the specialty of Internal Medicine, which “does not include competencies for evaluating pregnant and/or postpartum women” to fulfill the request from the Board of Directors.
They therefore declare that they “will decline any potential personal civil liability attributed to them due to any accident or incident harming the citizens’ right to health protection, resulting from poor service organization and management and/or insufficient or inadequate working conditions, in terms of human, logistical, and material resources.”
The Order of Doctors (OM) “rejects and shows profound concern” regarding the procedure established by the Board of Directors of ULS Arco Ribeirinho, assigning “responsibilities to Internal Medicine and General Surgery specialists in direct assistance within obstetrics and gynecology situations.”
The OM believes the document reveals “a profound misunderstanding of the technical and scientific limits of the involved medical specialties and demonstrates a worrying disregard for the safety of care provided to pregnant women and women in general.”
OM’s president, Carlos Cortes, states it is “unacceptable for internal medicine doctors and general surgeons to be asked to perform functions that clearly exceed their competencies.”
In a statement, Carlos Cortes warns that “such a situation poses a serious risk to the safety of the pregnant and treated women and introduces unacceptable professional and ethical liability exposure for the involved doctors.”
The Order of Doctors demands that the procedure be urgently reviewed, ensuring that only professionals properly qualified in Obstetrics and Gynecology provide specialized care in this area.
“No illusion of response should be created when it does not exist,” emphasizes Carlos Cortes, rejecting “improvised or circumstantial measures that could compromise care quality and endanger clinical safety.”
The Order reaffirms its commitment to service quality, ethical and professional rigor, and calls for an immediate reorganization of the affected services with an urgent reinforcement of qualified medical human resources.
The president also expresses “total availability for dialogue and collaboration with the competent authorities.”
“We remain firm and vigilant in the unwavering defense of people’s safety and the professional dignity of doctors,” he stresses.
