The document, presented this week to the Government by the National Women’s Health Commission, also suggests closing a pediatric emergency department and reducing the regional emergency model in the Greater Lisbon area.
The group’s coordinator, Alberto Caldas Afonso, indicated that the reinforcement of staffing in the most deficient maternity hospitals will begin in the Setúbal Peninsula and then extend to other units across the country facing similar issues outside the Lisbon region.
Caldas Afonso highlighted the examples of Castelo Branco, Guarda, and Portalegre. For the first two, he mentioned the need to adapt their response capabilities, though he didn’t specify whether this entails any closures. In Portalegre, the solution involves increasing the number of obstetricians.
In the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, experts recommend closing one obstetric emergency department—specifically at Barreiro hospital—transferring those teams to Garcia de Orta Hospital in Almada to concentrate emergency services there, supported by Setúbal hospital.
During a parliamentary session this week, Health Minister Ana Paula Martins stated the consolidation at Garcia de Orta Hospital, supported by Setúbal and receiving cases from INEM and SNS 24, would require seven complete teams for Garcia de Orta and three service providers. She noted ongoing negotiations with unions regarding the decree that involves team mobility.
The proposed closure of the Barreiro obstetric emergency department prompted dozens of users to protest in front of the hospital on Thursday. Local mayors have also expressed opposition.
Apart from Barreiro, no other hospital in the capital’s region is anticipated to have its obstetric emergencies closed. The document proposes the mobility of professionals among regional emergencies.
Caldas Afonso added that the alternating response model among nearby hospitals has been revised. “Amadora-Sintra and São Francisco Xavier will be excluded from the regional emergencies in Lisbon due to high demand, and for now, we won’t make changes.”
Between hospitals in Loures and Vila Franca de Xira, Leiria and Caldas da Rainha, and Santarém and Abrantes, solutions might involve either merging services into a single unit or rotating teams.
In the Médio Tejo Local Health Unit, covering the hospitals of Abrantes and Torres Novas, experts aim to implement more than just team rotations.
“In Médio Tejo, obstetrics is in Abrantes, while pediatrics and neonatology are in Torres Novas. This setup doesn’t make sense and cannot continue,” stated Caldas Afonso.
