Portuguese municipalities demand reopening of obstetrics emergency services

Mayors from the municipalities served by the Hospital Vila Franca de Xira and the Hospital do Barreiro met parliamentary groups in the Assembly of the Republic to contest the Ministry of Health's decision to close obstetrics and gynaecology emergency units. They will request a meeting with Adalberto Campos Fernandes, the coordinator of the Strategic Health Pact, to argue that the closures jeopardise timely care for pregnant women, increase travel distances and strain ambulance services.

The local officials also called for a monitoring commission and for access to the technical study that justified the closures, which they say they have not seen. The Hospital Vila Franca de Xira, inaugurated in 2013, serves about 250,000 residents and operated under a public‑private partnership until 2021. The mayors stress that the centralised obstetrics model is not working and demand the reopening of the emergency units.