"We cannot accept the closure, not even temporary, of the maternity hospital in Portimão," said Damião Sequeira, from that unit's User Committee, reacting to the news of the possible temporary closure due to the lack of pediatricians, suggested by the director of Pediatrics at the Hospital Center of the Algarve (CHA).
That responsible suggests the temporary closing of the maternity hospital during the night, in the month of July, and during the day in eight of the 31 days of this month. The problem, he argues, is that there is only one pediatrician per 12-hour period.
Pedro Nunes, chairman of the CHA Board of Directors, has already said that he will not accept the proposal, sent by the Director of Pediatrics in a letter dated July 2nd.
However, the administrator admitted the lack of pediatricians, saying that the maternity hospital is only open due to the "good will" of the doctors in Portimão, who have to work longer hours, and those of Faro, who will help when needed.
The director of Pediatrics himself said, in the letter, that the presence of the two necessary pediatricians during the day and night has been «more or less achieved with recourse to pediatricians from Faro and asking doctors to work more overtime than they are legally required to do».
Damião Sequeira, from the Commission of Users, underlined, in statements to the Sul Informação, that the maternity unit at Portimão do CHA serves «the entire Barlavento Algarve, from Odeceixe, Vila do Bispo, Aljezur, Monchique».
«There are people who live more than 100 kilometers from the Hospital of Faro, so we cannot accept the closing, even temporarily, of an essential health service such as maternity, under penalty of starting to have babies born in ambulances».
“The hospital has all the necessary equipment. There just aren't enough doctors. So it is necessary to create incentives and conditions to attract more doctors to the Algarve», defended Damião Sequeira.
The director of the Users' Committee underlined that the Maternity is not the only service at the hospital in Portimão to face problems: «Orthopedics and Cardiology also have serious problems of lack of human resources, which greatly harm users and create dangerous situations ».
As for the announcement made by Minister of Health Paulo Macedo for the launch of tenders for the hiring of «45 nurses, plus General and Family Medicine doctors and doctors of other specialties, for the Algarve», Damião Sequeira emphasizes that this alone is not enough. «There have already been other competitions, but there are no interested parties, maybe because there are no attractions. And right now, the lack of attractiveness may even be the work climate in the hospital. The atmosphere is knife-slicing and that drives away the doctors».
The maternity hospital in Portimão performs about a thousand deliveries a year and has only six pediatricians and eight obstetricians, who simultaneously provide emergency and maternity services. The maternity hospital of Faro, on the other hand, delivers about 3000 births a year, with 20 obstetricians, 14 of whom are over 55 years old, that is, they will also be able to leave in a short time.
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