The sole deputy from Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP), Filipe Sousa, has expressed that the death of an 11-month-old infant on August 22, outside the Idanha-a-Nova health center, “could and should have been prevented” and occurred because “the State failed.”
He emphasized, “Because the National Health Service (SNS), which should be the protective network for the Portuguese, is collapsing before our eyes.”
Sousa described the infant’s death as “not just a tragedy but a reflection of the State’s inability to protect its citizens.”
He stated, “The least the prime minister could do in the face of this pain is apologize to the Portuguese. The Government failed: it failed in prevention, it failed in organizing services, it failed in ensuring that every child, every citizen, has access to timely healthcare,” the statement reads.
The JPP deputy highlighted that this case “is not isolated” but rather “the most visible face of a profound problem: the SNS has entered structural bankruptcy.”
“Not due to a lack of investment, but because the system is poorly designed, poorly managed, and unable to meet the population’s needs. Until this failure is confronted head-on, tragedies like this will continue to occur,” he argued.
Sousa maintains that the Government “cannot continue to govern with tricks and patches” but needs “political courage to admit that the current model no longer works.”
He called for change, asserting, “Action is needed before more families endure this suffering,” considering that the SNS “is failing and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.”
“Each lost life is a cry demanding action. Every political silence is complicity,” he warned.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death of an 11-month-old infant who reportedly suffered cardiac arrest outside the Idanha-a-Nova health center, in the district of Castelo Branco.
TV Record reported on Monday that a baby died at the health center’s entrance on August 22, after being refused care close to the facility’s closing time, according to the child’s mother.
Diário de Notícias reported today that the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Castelo Branco has already initiated an investigation into the infant’s death, and the family’s lawyer stated they will be reviewing the case to determine the next steps.
Meanwhile, the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Castelo Branco has launched an internal inquiry to uncover what transpired, while INEM indicated that the Center for Urgent Patient Guidance (CODU) received a call from the health center requesting support for an 11-month-old in cardiac arrest, but despite efforts, “the infant did not recover from the cardiac arrest situation.”
