“Just as in the case of the new airport, the National Health Service also deserves a broad consensus for a structural path that involves valuing professionals and improving working conditions,” said Frederico Rosa in statements to Lusa news agency.
The Setúbal Peninsula has three hospitals: São Bernardo in Setúbal, Garcia de Orta in Almada, and Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Barreiro. These units serve nine municipalities in the Setúbal district (Almada, Setúbal, Seixal, Sesimbra, Palmela, Montijo, Moita, Barreiro, and Alcochete), with a total of 808,689 residents according to the 2021 Census.
According to the emergency schedules published on the National Health Service (SNS) Portal at 23:30 on Sunday, the Gynecology and Obstetrics emergency units closed today are those of Hospital de São Bernardo, Hospital Nossa Senhora do Rosário, Hospital de São Francisco Xavier in Lisbon, Hospital das Caldas da Rainha, and Hospital de Santo André in Leiria.
This week, Thursday and Saturday will be the days with the most Gynecology emergency units closed – seven in total.
Today, the Pediatric emergency unit at the Barreiro hospital will also be closed.
At Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon and Garcia de Orta Hospital, only referred cases will be received, meaning those reserved for internal emergencies, cases referred by the Urgent Patient Guidance Centers (CODU) of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), and by the SNS 24 line.
Frederico Rosa warned that this is not just a local problem and that the issue “cannot be solved with quick fixes.” It should be rethought as soon as possible and for the long term, otherwise, the problems will repeat themselves in a year.
“It’s a fundamental problem that needs to be treated with the necessary seriousness to give people peace of mind and ensure the predictability of the system,” stressed the mayor of Barreiro.
The municipality president called for a “broad political consensus,” warning of the need to adapt the SNS to a new reality that is coexistence with the private system.
According to data from the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS) provided to Lusa on Friday, the SNS Pregnant Line, which is part of SNS 24, handled 16,141 calls between June 1 and July 26, with 8,268 calls referring to triage carried out in June.
In two months, about 2,490 users were referred to primary health care and 11,209 to hospital emergency services, SPMS said, also indicating that 246 were referred to INEM.
The data also reveal that more than 13.5% of pregnant women were advised to stay in self-care.
As for the number of consultations carried out by SNS 24 in the first eight months of the year, the data indicate that they totaled 1,875,56, 9,493 less than in the same period in 2023.
According to the figures, 610,941 users were referred to hospital emergencies and 461,379 to primary health care.
