The announcement was made by the Minister of Health during the Health Commission, where she explained that negotiations with the unions and discussions with the Order of Doctors and Nurses are necessary since the Government already has the legislation ready.
During the hearing, the Minister of Health stated that to ensure the permanent opening of the 39 emergency rooms in the country, “more than a million hours of annual medical work” would be required, fulfilling the staffing levels (20% of obstetricians in the team) established by the Order of Doctors.
For the Setúbal Peninsula, specifically to keep the emergency rooms at Hospital Garcia de Orta, the most differentiated, and Hospital de Setúbal operational, an additional 30 specialists would be required.
The minister explained that to create this regional emergency service, Hospital Garcia de Orta would need seven complete teams and three temporary task-based teams; thus, a “hiring model with more commitments” must be found.
“We are legislating in that direction, as well as introducing remuneration supplements associated with the mobility of these professionals,” she stated, noting that a “hiring model” must be discussed with the unions.
According to the minister, the mobility of professionals will impact their lives, and as such, they must have “all conditions” ensured.
“A doctor, a nurse, a technician – these are entire teams working in Setúbal – when they need to relocate to Hospital Garcia de Orta, their lives are affected just like anyone else who has to change their routine,” she elaborated.
“They will have all conditions, but they must go to another location. And we must also be able to empathize with these situations and, essentially, tell them: your mission is there, but you will not earn less than those who provide task-based services alongside you, although they are also very important to us at this moment,” she emphasized.
The minister also cited the example of many young doctors who “do not even finish their specialty” and end up working alongside an obstetrician with 20 years of career who earns a third of the salary paid to colleagues.
She acknowledged that Garcia de Orta, with 10 delivery rooms, 31 postpartum beds, and 15 neonatal beds, “is not sufficient for the Setúbal Peninsula.” Therefore, a competition will be opened in 2026 for the project of the Maternal and Child Center of the Setúbal Peninsula, “which will be located within the perimeter of Hospital Garcia de Orta.”
“It is the only way to concentrate resources without deactivating services in other hospitals,” she added.
The minister wanted to clarify that even with the hospital in Almada open every day, the obstetrics emergency department at Hospital de Setúbal will have to remain open in contingency, that is, open to the Medical Emergency Coordination Centre (CODU) for women referred by the SNS24 line due to “risk of distance.”
Regarding the Maternal and Child Center of the Setúbal Peninsula, the minister revealed that the project competition will be opened, which might take “two or three years, or perhaps a bit longer.”
She added that the construction will be funded through the State Budget, expecting it to be completed “by the end of the legislature” or “beyond the legislature, depending on the construction time.”
