Portugal’s Health Minister Marta Temido resigned today after widespread criticism of her decision to temporarily suspend the operation of maternity clinic emergency departments in some hospitals.
The Ministry of Health announced that Temido decided to resign because she “realized that the conditions to remain in her position are no longer met”.
In a statement, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said he accepted her resignation and thanked Temido for her work in organizing a successful vaccination campaign against covid-19.
The Portuguese government suspended the operation of emergency departments of maternity clinics in some hospitals, mainly during the weekend, as there were not enough doctors during the summer holidays.
Opposition parties and prefectures criticized the health ministry’s decision as many pregnant women were forced to travel to far-flung hospitals to receive emergency care, often putting their lives or their fetuses at risk.
Temido’s resignation was announced hours after reports that a pregnant woman died on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest in an ambulance that was taking her from Lisbon’s Santa Maria Central Hospital, which had no available beds in its maternity clinic, to another hospital in Portuguese capital.
Temido was appointed health minister in October 2018 and last year was among the most popular members of Portugal’s government thanks to the success of the vaccination campaign.
More recently, however, its popularity began to wane as doctor shortages and other problems arose at many public hospitals, after thousands of doctors signed statements disclaiming responsibility for any wrongdoing, citing poor working conditions and extreme fatigue.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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