The conclusion of the first phase of the project, which includes the delivery room area, is scheduled for December 2025. The total investment planned for the restructuring endeavor currently stands at 2,663,417.10 euros, excluding VAT, according to the Local Health Unit of Alto Minho (ULSAM) in written communication.
When asked on Wednesday about the launch of a public tender for independent work on the delivery room block, ULSAM clarified that these independent works are not supplementary to the main contract.
The public tender is valued at 142,312.81 euros, excluding VAT, and the contract execution period is set at 20 days.
The deadline for submitting proposals ends at 6:00 PM on November 10, with competitors required to maintain their offers for 120 days from that date.
The restructuring of the Santa Luzia hospital’s delivery room began in November 2024, divided into two phases to avoid service disruption.
The intervention, funded by the National Health Service (SNS) Delivery Room Qualification Incentive Program, has long been requested by ULSAM. The Viana do Castelo City Council provided support of 100,000 euros to ensure the commencement of work.
The maternity ward’s restructuring application was approved in January 2023. In May, during a visit to Santa Luzia hospital, the former Health Minister, Manuel Pizarro, announced that the maternity delivery room would undergo remodeling by the end of that year.
The project was subject to two public tenders because the first remained unawarded, with approval only authorized by a government decree last August.
The then ULSAM board chairman, João Oliveira, stated the maternity restructuring will relieve the central operating room, which is under significant pressure.
Oliveira noted that, in addition to remodeling current spaces, the main change would be the creation of an operating room and a delivery room within the gynecology and obstetrics floor.
“Women requiring cesareans will not need to go to the central operating room. They will remain closer to the service, receiving better care. Also, gynecological scheduled surgeries can be performed in this delivery room, freeing up the central operating room, which is highly pressed and stretched to its capacity,” he explained.
The Viana do Castelo maternity ward began operations in 1968 and conducts an average of 1,500 deliveries annually.
ULSAM comprises two hospitals: Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo and Conde de Bertiandos in Ponte de Lima.
It also includes 12 health centers, a public health unit, and two convalescence units, serving a resident population of over 244,000 people across the 10 municipalities in the Viana do Castelo district, and some neighboring areas in the Braga district.
More than 2,500 professionals work in these structures, including approximately 500 doctors and over 800 nurses.
