The measure was identified by Joana Bordalo Sá, president of the federation, following a meeting with doctors from various specialties at the Local Health Unit of Entre Douro e Vouga (ULS EDV), which, based in Feira, also manages three other hospitals in the Aveiro district, specifically São João da Madeira, Oliveira de Azeméis, and Ovar.
“In the maternal and child area, in obstetrics, the teams are working with extremely reduced numbers. There are two permanent doctors and a resident (who is a doctor in training), and sometimes at night, there is no staff doctor on duty, with only service providers and the resident, who is not being properly supervised,” she stated.
Joana Bordalo Sá expressed concern over the medical component due to “teams operating at minimum capacity” which include “very tired professionals,” and expressed apprehension about the users of this service, considering “the risk this situation may represent for pregnant women and their babies.”
The president of FNAM acknowledged that the lack of human resources also affects other areas of ULS EDV, “such as pneumology,” but argued that the priority is the maternal and child service, where “the problem cannot be ignored.”
In the same meeting with doctors from Hospital São Sebastião, the context of the national electricity cut on April 28 was also discussed, during which the unit maintained near-normal operation thanks to power generators. In this case, FNAM’s assessment is positive, yet it prompts a review of the management’s performance.
“During the blackout, everything was ensured, much thanks to the doctors and health professionals of each unit, who are committed to the hospital, and this is commendable,” emphasized Joana Bordalo Sá.
However, she stated, “this effort also needs to be recognized by the central administration, including Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, who so far has done nothing to retain more doctors in the National Health Service,” she concluded.
