Director of the National Health Service heard in Parliament about the death of two babies

The Chief Executive of the National Health Service (SNS) was summoned by Chega for an urgent parliamentary hearing following the deaths of two babies in June and July. Álvaro Almeida will hear and respond to accusations and criticisms leveled by various parties this Wednesday morning. The executive mentions a "number of factual inaccuracies" in the document presented by the party to the Assembly of the Republic and assures that "there is no connection between the closure of emergency rooms and a fatal outcome."

The events date back to early June, when a 37-year-old woman lost her baby during childbirth after being treated at five different hospitals. This first case, which involved all three emergency rooms on the South Bank, was joined by another episode—less than a month later—related to the closure of the obstetric emergency rooms at Barreiro Hospital, Garcia de Orta Hospital, and São Bernardo Hospital. A 38-year-old woman suffered the same fate after waiting nearly three hours for emergency assistance from firefighters in the early hours of the morning. Due to the lack of hospital services available south of the Tagus, she had to travel more than an hour to Cascais Hospital, during which she reportedly suffered a placental abruption. By the time she arrived at the hospital, the fetus was already dead.

These two deaths prompted a request from Chega for an urgent hearing with the Executive Director of the National Health Service, Álvaro Almeida. In the document submitted the day after the second case , the party focuses on the "extreme gravity" of these two events, stating that "two lives could have been saved" if the NHS were not in such a "deplorable state." Chega deputies on the Health Committee of the Assembly of the Republic highlight the "systematic closure of obstetric emergency rooms in the South Bank," the "overcrowding" of services, and also the "lack of planning and government incompetence" that "continue to cause avoidable tragedies."

Opening the hearing, Member of Parliament Rui Cristina emphasized that the "disruptions in obstetric emergency services" are "very worrying." The Chega representative on this committee states that these two events "expose multiple and recurring flaws," noting that after "years of disinvestment in the NHS," episodes like those that occurred in June are not "a coincidence." "They have weakened national emergency services," adds the member.

Thus, pointing to a "systemic collapse" rather than a "one-off crisis," Rui Cristina asks Álvaro Almeida "how he explains that on July 4th, the South Bank was left without any alternative." He also points out that the SNS24 hotline "failed completely" and asks the Executive Director "what concrete measures he took to understand what led to these failures." "How many more tragic cases must occur before we recognize that this hospital referral network is completely inadequate," he emphasizes.

In response, Álvaro Almeida says the Chega MP's statements represent a "set of factual inaccuracies." He admits that the events mentioned are "unfortunate and regrettable," but the SNS Executive Director asserts that the story told by Rui Cristina is not entirely true. "Setúbal Hospital was functioning," Almeida asserts, explaining that the 31-week pregnant woman was only not transferred to São Bernardo because she "needed specialized perinatal support" — something that "doesn't exist in Setúbal," and Barreiro also "doesn't have that capacity."

He explains that the 38-year-old woman had to be transported to a facility with these capabilities, and since the emergency services at the hospital in Almada were effectively closed, Cascais was the only option—a "time difference of only 10 or 15 minutes," according to Álvaro Almeida. He also notes that although he is not responsible for the SNS24 line, he requested clarification to understand what specifically happened in this case.

"There is no record of contact at 11 p.m.," the executive denies, stating that the first contact only appeared at 1:30 a.m., where "there was no indication to call emergency services." There was a second contact, at 1:47 a.m., with the woman admitting "more frequent contractions," and then the requested services were called, and she was admitted to Cascais "two hours later." Thus, mentioning that the pregnant woman "was properly accompanied by transport," he assures that "it was not because of the transport" that the child died.

The Executive Director of the National Health Service (SNS) says there is no "factual basis" to link the "fateful outcome" to the closure of the emergency room and states that it is "highly unlikely" that the "10 minutes of additional transport accompanied by doctors" was the cause of the baby's death. Regarding the second case, that of the 37-year-old pregnant woman who was treated at five hospitals before the baby died during childbirth, Álvaro Almeida denies that an "emergency" C-section was performed and that "there is no relationship between the closure of emergency rooms and a fatal outcome."

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