Around 50 babies were born in ambulances in 2024
Portugal’s health minister has admitted the need to cut down on the number of babies born in ambulances on the way to the hospital.
Speaking at the end of a visit to Hospital de Santa Cruz in Lisbon on Wednesday, Ana Paula Martins said the goal is to “have fewer and fewer babies born in ambulances, above all through well-supervised pregnancies.”
The minister highlighted that maternal and child care has long been a strength of the country’s health system, but said that efforts should be made to ensure it stays that way.
According to Lusa news agency, reports indicate that around 50 births took place in ambulances last year, sparking questions about whether gaps in prenatal or emergency care are leaving mothers in the lurch. Martins noted that such births have “always” happened and admitted that “it is not possible to avoid it in some circumstances.”
“But of course that’s not our goal at all,” she added, without promising a specific plan to reduce them.
Martins also took the opportunity to respond to criticism from Fernando Araújo, the former director of Portugal’s National Health Service and now a lead candidate for the opposition Socialist Party in next month’s election. In an interview with national public radio station Antena 1, Araújo claimed the current health reform plan was failing and even called for Martins’ resignation.
“I understand that the former executive director, who resigned and slammed the door on the executive board of his own volition, didn’t have a plan either, at least I don’t recognise it. It’s surprising that the former executive director now appears all the time, when he didn’t when he was executive director, he always sent someone for him.
“Now, apparently, he gives interviews every day,” she retorted, challenging Araújo to face up to his opponent in the constituency: “I’d like him to debate with Dr Paulo Rangel (the minister of foreign affairs) and not desert the debates, which is what he did.”
Regarding the recurrent closure of emergency rooms, the minister acknowledged that there is concern about the service in Setúbal Peninsula but insisted that there are always professionals working in hospital emergency rooms, even if a particular department is unable to respond.
