A four-month-old baby was handed over to an institution between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, according to sources.
The child was removed by her mother from the pediatric unit of the Gaia hospital on Wednesday, bypassing security measures, prompting the Local Health Unit of Gaia/Espinho (ULSGE) to initiate an internal investigation.
The mother took her daughter from the hospital in the afternoon after being informed by the court in the morning that the child would be placed with a foster family on the same day, the source indicated.
The situation was first reported by Jornal de Notícias (JN), which stated that the hospital had informed the police and the court of the baby’s disappearance.
On Thursday, Luís Matos, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Local Health Unit of Gaia/Espinho, stated they are “evaluating everything that happened” regarding the mother who took the baby from the hospital.
“We will assess everything, including the bracelet system and how it was possible for the baby to be taken out, and we will conduct all possible tests,” Luís Matos assured reporters.
The electronic bracelet was found intact in the trash of the bathroom in the room where the child was hospitalized.
“We need to learn from this so that it does not happen again. We will ensure that it does not happen again by gathering all the lessons from this incident,” he added.
Luís Matos emphasized that the hospital, located in the Porto district, is thoroughly investigating how the mother managed to remove the baby’s bracelet.
On Thursday, the GNR reported that the baby was handed over in the late afternoon at the Carvalhos station in Vila Nova de Gaia and was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
The Lusa agency queried the Health Activities Inspectorate-General about opening an investigation into this case and is awaiting a response.
