António Nunes announced this news following a meeting with the Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Lisbon. The meeting also included representatives from the Executive Board of the National Health Service (DE-SNS), the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), and the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP).
“There is a system we had already agreed upon with INEM, which is the pre-hospital emergency system, with 38 reinforcement ambulances. The question raised was whether we could reassess some situations, if necessary, or even increase that number to address the closure of obstetric emergencies in Setúbal, and in some parts of the country, such as the central region in Leiria or the north in Aveiro. We agreed. We were available to assist in responding to the pre-hospital emergency,” said the LBP president to Lusa.
Last week, Ana Paula Martins announced in an interview with Sic that the Garcia de Orta Hospital will have its obstetrics emergency department open 24 hours a day starting September 1, with additional doctors transitioning from the private sector to join the SNS. She acknowledged that the Setúbal Peninsula is the “most critical area” in gynecology and obstetrics response.
According to António Nunes, the purpose of today’s two-hour meeting was to determine whether the pre-hospital emergency system could “respond to all requests in a timely and organized manner.”
“The 38 ambulances had already been identified. They have been registered since October last year. Initially, there were 100, then reduced to 60, and now there are 38. Therefore, we currently have 38 additional resources allocated to pre-hospital emergency services,” he noted.
António Nunes added that the LBP will meet with INEM this week, on a date yet to be defined, “to fine-tune one or another aspect,” emphasizing that “in general terms, the issue is resolved.”
