Portugal Health Minister Quits After Pregnant Indian Tourist Dies
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Portugal's Health Minister Marta Temido has resigned after a pregnant tourist died in Lisbon in what is believed to be a direct consequence of her decision to temporarily close emergency obstetric services, forcing risky transfers of pregnant women between hospitals.
Temido tendered her resignation on Tuesday, August 30. It emerged in reports on various outlets that the tourist was an Indian woman on August 31.
"The 34-year-old Indian woman reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest while being transferred between Lisbon hospitals," BBC has reported.
Reuters has reported that the death took place on Saturday, August 27, after suffering a cardiac arrest during an ambulance transfer from Lisbon's main hospital Santa Maria, which had no vacancies in the neonatology service, to another hospital in the capital.
The child was delivered and was in good health, BBC reported, quoting Portuguese outlets.
The Health Ministry said in a statement Temido had decided to step down because she "realised that she no longer had the conditions to remain in office".
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said he had accepted her resignation and thanked Temido for her work, which included organising a successful vaccination campaign against COVID-19.
The government took the measure to close emergency obstetric services, especially at weekends, as several hospitals did not have enough doctors during the summer holidays.
Opposition parties and municipalities have criticised the minister because pregnant women sometimes have to make risky trips to hospitals far away.
Temido became health minister in October, 2018 and last year was among the most popular government members thanks to the success of the vaccination campaign, according to opinion polls.
But more recently her star has faded due to staffing and other problems at many public hospitals and after thousands of doctors presented the so-called refusal of responsibility, citing poor working conditions and extreme fatigue.
(With Reuters inputs)
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