“The inquiry aims to assess the facts related to the care provided to a pregnant woman at the emergency service of the Unidade Local de Saúde de Amadora-Sintra who passed away (…) hours after being sent home,” IGAS states in a release.
The Health Regulatory Entity also announced the launch of an evaluation process with the same objective. Both organizations will cooperate “to obtain all the necessary explanations in a complementary manner.”
Following a report by CNN Portugal regarding the death of the pregnant woman, ULS Amadora-Sintra stated in a release that the 38-week pregnant woman, originally from Guinea-Bissau, arrived at the emergency service around 01:50 today, transported by an INEM team in cardiac arrest.
On Wednesday, the woman had attended a routine consultation at Amadora-Sintra hospital, where she was identified with mild hypertension and referred internally to the Obstetrics Emergency. After several diagnostic tests, she was discharged with a recommendation for admission at 39 weeks of gestation.
According to the institution, an “internal investigation was launched to ascertain all the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
The National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) reported that the Urgent Patient Guidance Center (CODU) received a call at 00:28 today requesting help for a 36-year-old pregnant woman in her 38th week, experiencing shortness of breath.
“Following clinical triage and providing necessary advice, CODU dispatched an emergency ambulance at 00:36,” INEM notes in a statement.
According to INEM, the ambulance team informed CODU at 00:54 that the patient was in cardiac arrest, prompting the deployment of the Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER) from the Fernando Fonseca Hospital (Amadora-Sintra).
“At 1:14, on-site, the VMER medical team implemented the appropriate Advanced Life Support (ALS) measures. The patient was then transferred to HFF with medical accompaniment from the VMER team, arriving at 1:48,” the institute specifies.
