The minister also explained to the deputy “there is no casuistry that allows us to conclude this”, but assumed that the closures may have led “to diversion of pregnant women to other units on the north bank of Lisbon due to lack of infrastructure in Barreiro and, sometimes, in Setúbal”, and “deliveries sometimes ended up taking place in ambulances”.
Ana Paula Martins also justified the situation with the fact that the SNS24 Grávida line makes it easier for pregnant women and their families to request help, which, through the algorithm, allows INEM ambulances to be sent almost immediately. “Today there are many more ambulances in circulation in this context, dedicated to the issue of childbirth, than there were in previous years. And if on the one hand this is not what we want, because what we want is for the person to arrive at the emergency room in time to be able to have their baby, it is also true that between having the baby at home involuntarily, because some home births are voluntary, or having the baby on the public road in an ambulance, despite everything, this is a safer environment”.
In the area of obstetrics, the government official announced at the same hearing that the regional emergency model will begin in March and in units on the Setúbal Peninsula, but also in Vila Franca de Xira and Loures. Ana Paula Martins confirmed that the centralization of obstetric emergencies in Margem Sul will be located, as expected, at Hospital Garcia de Orta, in Almada. The minister also confirmed that the emergency room at Hospital Nossa Senhora do Rosário, in Barreiro, will be closed for emergency situations, but not for scheduled births, because “not all births are urgent”, she explained.
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