Summary:
Emergency services now only accepting women referred by SNS 24, INEM, and health centers.
Only urgent cases will be treated, including loss of consciousness and severe pain.
Pilot project includes multiple hospitals across Lisbon and surrounding regions.
70% reduction in non-urgent cases expected during the three-month test period.
Concerns raised over doctor shortages affecting patient safety.
New Guidelines for Obstetric Emergencies
Starting today, obstetric and gynecological emergency services will only accept women referred by the SNS 24 hotline, INEM, and health centers. Other pregnant women will receive guidance through the SNS hotline or will be scheduled for an appointment within 24 hours.
Scope of the Pilot Project
The pilot project initially includes hospitals in Santa Maria, São Francisco Xavier, Amadora-Sintra, Loures, and Cascais, as well as units in Vila Franca de Xira, Santarém, Abrantes, Caldas da Rainha, and Leiria. The model will also be implemented in two projects in Porto, one in Alentejo, and in Leiria.
The SNS hotline for pregnant women is the same as the Saúde 24 hotline: 808 24 24 24.
Urgent Cases Only
According to the Ministry of Health, only urgent cases such as loss of consciousness, seizures, difficulty breathing, hemorrhage, and severe pain will be attended to. These situations may occur during pregnancy, in the first six weeks postpartum, or at any other time.
A telephone pre-triage should preferably be conducted by specialized maternal and obstetric nurses. This new model will be tested for three months. The director of obstetrics and gynecology at the Santa Maria Local Health Unit hopes to see a 70% reduction in non-urgent cases arriving at hospitals.
Challenges and Concerns
The National Federation of Doctors warns that the upcoming weeks may pose challenges for hospitals, citing a shortage of doctors. Over the weekend, wait times exceeded normal levels in Greater Lisbon. Joana Bordalo e Sá, president of FNAM, states that the SNS 24 hotline will not solve the underlying problem of medical shortages, and she predicts difficult days ahead.
She emphasizes that the implementation of this measure does not address the central issue of doctor shortages in the National Health Service. The solution, she argues, is to quickly negotiate with the federation to secure healthcare professionals in the SNS.
The Independent Doctors' Union also opposes this new model, highlighting concerns over the safety of pregnant women due to reduced medical teams, particularly in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo regions.
Response from Local Health Units
The Local Health Unit of Leiria assures that health centers are prepared to accommodate non-urgent pregnant women. However, the director of obstetrics and gynecology confirmed that the maternity ward will remain closed on weekends due to the shortage of doctors.
Concerns have also been raised by the observatory of obstetric violence regarding the implementation of this measure.
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