The president of the Medical Association, Carlos Cortes, stated he usually refrains from joining the calls for either the dismissal or the retention of the Health Minister. This remark was made following a meeting at the Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora.
Cortes was asked whether Health Minister Ana Paula Martins should remain in her role after she faced critique over her handling of the case involving a pregnant woman and her baby, who both died at Hospital Amadora-Sintra.
Noting that the Medical Association does not manage political decisions regarding health ministers, Cortes pointed out that the organization has sought clarifications from the Local Health Unit (ULS) Amadora-Sintra about the incident and will only comment once concrete data is available.
“Nevertheless, it’s evident there were a series of communication failures, particularly from the Ministry of Health, which were avoidable,” he stressed, referring to the resignation request of the ULS Amadora-Sintra president.
The Health Minister revealed on Monday that the chairman of the ULS Amadora-Sintra Board of Directors offered to step down after providing incomplete information regarding the pregnant woman’s death.
In his discussion, Carlos Cortes downplayed the importance of whether the minister stays or leaves, emphasizing that “the most crucial aspects are health policies and a set of absolutely essential and mandatory reforms for the National Health Service (SNS).”
“In the past 10 years or so, we’ve had six Health Ministers, yet the SNS continues to degrade, and changes in the Ministry’s leadership have not brought improvement,” he elaborated.
Cortes argued that urgent measures need to be taken in the sector without further delay, highlighting necessary reforms in “emergency, maternity, surgery areas, and even budget-related issues.”
“I urge the Government and Health Ministry, regardless of who is leading, to act, make decisions, implement reforms, and start by taking targeted decisions in specific areas, particularly in emergency services,” he emphasized.
Cortes highlighted that the case of the deceased pregnant woman and baby uncovered an IT issue within the SNS, underscoring the need for a unified electronic health process.
In this specific situation, he noted, “the hospital’s system is different from the primary care centers’ systems,” resulting in “a failure in the interoperability of these systems.”
A unified electronic health process “would have a positive impact, even on the budget, by eliminating redundancies,” he added.
ULS Amadora-Sintra reported that the 38-week pregnant woman, originally from Guinea-Bissau, arrived at the emergency department around 1:50 a.m. on Friday in cardiorespiratory arrest, transported by a National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) team.
The baby, delivered via emergency cesarean section at the Amadora-Sintra Local Health Unit, passed away on Saturday morning.
The hospital has initiated an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the pregnant woman’s death, who had attended a consultation on Wednesday where hypertension was detected, according to the institution.
Furthermore, the Health Activity General Inspectorate (IGAS) has launched an inquiry process to assess the assistance provided by ULS Amadora-Sintra.
The Health Regulatory Entity (ERS) also announced the commencement of an evaluation process with the same objective, with both organizations collaborating to gather all necessary information complementarily.
