New Clinic in Lisbon Provides Essential Care for Expecting Mothers and Children Without Family Doctors

New Clinic Launches in Lisbon

The Nascer e Crescer clinic, located in the Marvila health unit in Lisbon, opened its doors two weeks ago and has already seen significant demand. The clinic aims to cater to approximately 700 pregnant women and 2,500 children under the age of two who currently lack a family doctor.

Since its inauguration, the clinic has received 80 referrals for children and about 40 for pregnant women who were previously without any medical supervision. According to Hugo Gaspar, the clinical director, many of these cases involve pregnant women who are already 20 to 28 weeks along and children aged 9 to 12 months without any health monitoring.

Minister's Remarks

The clinic was inaugurated by Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, who praised it as “the most virtuous example” of primary and hospital care integration. She emphasized the need for effective responses to maternal and child healthcare challenges, particularly highlighting the importance of innovation and teamwork in creating such initiatives.

Staffing and Operations

The clinic operates with a team of three maternal and child health nurses and six family medicine specialists. Dulce Novo, the nursing lead, expressed the frustration of health professionals regarding the lack of services for pregnant women and children, noting the clinic's immediate positive impact.

Goals and Future Plans

The clinic's primary objective is to ensure that each pregnant woman receives at least five monitoring consultations and that children have six consultations in their first year, aligning with the guidelines from the Directorate-General of Health. This structured follow-up aims to identify health issues early and reduce unnecessary emergency visits.

Additionally, Rosa Valente de Matos, president of ULS São José, highlighted the collaborative effort required to establish the clinic and expressed hopes to extend services to cover children up to 5 or 10 years old in the future.