A newborn baby is in critical condition at Lisbon’s Dona Estefânia Hospital after being forced to endure a 270-kilometre ambulance ride from the Algarve because an INEM emergency helicopter wasn’t available.
The baby, born late Friday at Portimão Hospital with a congenital brain haemorrhage, was initially transferred to Faro for specialised neurosurgical care. But as the situation worsened, doctors urgently requested air transport to Lisbon.
However, a helicopter was not made available due to adverse weather which prevented it from taking off, the national medical emergency institute INEM later confirmed in a statement to newsrooms.
With no air options left, the newborn had to be rushed by ambulance all the way from Faro to Lisbon – a journey of nearly three hours and 270 kilometres. The baby arrived in the capital in a critical state and was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit for neonatology.
INEM added that the baby’s transfer was carried out “by a Paediatric Inter-Hospital Transport Ambulance, ensuring medical monitoring and maximum safety.”
CNN Portugal had initially reported that the INEM helicopter based in Loulé that is equipped to carry incubators and perform neonatal transfers was declared out of service due to a lack of essential medical equipment required to safely transport newborns in critical condition.
However, INEM attributed the decision to not deploy a helicopter from Loulé or Évora solely on the adverse weather.
