Extended Weekend Brings Closure of Urgent Care Services
This extended weekend, beginning Friday with the April 25th holiday, will see six urgent care services closing. The gynecology and obstetrics departments at the Amadora-Sintra, Barreiro, and Garcia de Orta hospitals in Almada will be closed on Friday.
Following this, on Saturday and Sunday, the obstetrics unit in Santarém and the pediatrics services in Loures and Vila Franca de Xira will also be unavailable.
The Amadora-Sintra obstetrics unit will reopen on Saturday, but the gynecology and obstetrics services in Caldas da Rainha will not accept patients on Sunday. In total, only one other urgent care service, the gynecology and obstetrics department at Santo André Hospital in Leiria, will be closed during the weekend.
Additional Constraints in Healthcare Services
In Braga, the obstetrics unit will only attend to patients already in the internal emergency services. Others will only receive care if referred by INEM or through the SNS24 hotline.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Ana Paula Martins acknowledged the potential for further difficulties in urgent care services. During her visit to Santa Cruz Hospital, she addressed recent reports of births occurring in ambulances, with statistics showing around fifty such cases in 2024.
“Our goal is to reduce the number of births in ambulances, particularly through well-monitored pregnancies,” the minister stated, emphasizing Portugal's historical strength in maternal and child health.
On Monday, a woman in labor arrived at the general emergency department of Barreiro Hospital, where the gynecology and obstetrics service was closed, and she ended up giving birth in a corridor.
Response to Criticism
In response to criticisms from former SNS executive director Fernando Araújo, who suggested her resignation, the minister defended the ongoing emergency and transformation plan of the SNS, stating that it is in development and many measures have already been implemented.
“I understand that the former executive director, who resigned, did not have a plan, at least not one I recognize,” she continued, calling for constructive debate rather than evasion from current political discussions.
The minister acknowledged ongoing concerns regarding urgent service closures, particularly in the Setúbal Peninsula, yet reassured that there will always be professionals available in hospital emergency services.
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