Barreiro Hospital just doesn’t have the staff
The country’s crisis in the provision of basic health care took another lurch south this morning with the closure of a hospital emergency service for pregnant women for the next 10 days.
Barreiro Hospital, in the district of Setúbal, simply does not have enough medical professionals to perform an adequate service.
As of 8am, it stopped receiving pregnant women.
Ambulance cases involving pregnant women from the region “will be analysed individually and forwarded to other hospitals via the Urgent Patient Guidance Centre (CODU)~”, which, according to reports, has already alerted the local fire brigade about the closure, so that they too no longer transport women to the hospital.
Normal operations will resume at 8am on July 19.
Also in Setúbal today, the obstetrics service at São Bernardo Hospital will be closing from 8pm today, and not reopening until “at least the 15th of this month”, reports SIC Notícias.
All this comes as the request laid down at the weekend by PS secretary general José Luís Carneiro for explanations from the prime minister remains unanswered. PSD’s secretary general Hugo Soares said last night that he had “absolute confidence” in the prime minister and in the minister of health to sort out all the current issues burning a hole in the country’s state health service, but the prime minister himself has remained silent. ND
source material: SIC Notícias
