The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, expressed profound regret on Wednesday regarding the outcomes of the recent cases involving pregnant women who lost their babies, stating that it “could hardly have been avoided”. She acknowledged that “medicine still can’t solve everything,” while emphasizing that “we cannot normalize the idea that having closed emergency services is normal”.
“This year, we’ve undertaken efforts that have shown results, particularly in obstetrics. If you ask if everything is done, it’s not. It will take some time to stabilize, especially in the Setúbal Peninsula, which we know is the most critical area. It was already critical when we started”, she noted during an interview with SIC Notícias.
Ana Paula Martins reported that, this year, unlike last year, Garcia de Orta Hospital (HGO) in Almada will be “fully open for at least 11 days.” The hospitals in Barreiro and Setúbal, “still on rotation,” will see changes in their model starting September 1.
The health official also highlighted that the situation in the Margem Sul has improved “significantly this year, but it is by no means perfect”.
“We always have an emergency room open. Currently, we have only one closed emergency service in the country, which is HGO, but Barreiro is open and Setúbal is referenced to CODU,” she said.
Ana Paula Martins reiterated that “we cannot normalize the idea that having closed emergency services is normal”, while emphasizing that “especially before the pandemic, we indeed had an emergency response capacity that we don’t have today, because we lack human resources—doctors and nurses”.
The National Commission for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health stated today that the two pregnant women who lost their babies in recent weeks received the “necessary assistance,” expressing regret over the situations.
Lusa | 19:21 – 07/07/2025
When questioned about her perceived lack of empathy in addressing the cases of the two pregnant women who lost their babies, the minister regretted that this is the image “many people” have of her.
“I admit and regret that this is the image—and I know it is true—that many people have of me. I can only be responsible for that, no one else. [However] I have always taken care and felt the duty to deeply regret what had happened, regardless of, in these two cases, the outcome, unfortunately, being hardly avoidable,” she stated.
She added: “I am a mother and have two children. With my first child, who is now 29, I was in a very serious situation. I might not have survived, and neither might my child have. I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like today to come home and not have him there. Therefore, I could never fail to feel closely what these women must have felt, and there are no words of consolation. What happens is that medicine still cannot solve everything.”
The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, stated today that she will leave office when the Prime Minister deems her mission concluded, stressing that until then, she will remain in the government.
Lusa | 19:01 – 04/07/2025
Later, during the program ‘Importa-se de repetir?’ on the same television channel, Ana Paula Martins indicated she would consider stepping down if she lacked “strength,” “spirit,” or “capacity.”
“On the day when I feel I lack the strength, the spirit, or even the capacity to—along with the team—coordinate the design and implementation of policies, or if I have a health or family issue, on that day, I will say”, she asserted.
