A newborn child was delivered on the A22 highway, travelling from Faro to Portimão.
In Portugal, the number of babies born in ambulances has been on the rise, with at least 38 births reported so far this year. This trend is primarily due to a shortage of nurses on ambulances, resulting in delayed emergency response times for pregnant women experiencing labor pains.
The root of this crisis can be traced back to a restructuring process of Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM) that began in late 2024. Centralizing hiring powers to the Health Minister’s office has led to bureaucratic delays in filling the 34 vacant nursing positions on ambulances, causing existing staff to be overstretched and contributing to longer response times.
To combat this issue, the Portuguese government and INEM are taking several steps. They are conducting a technical commission to rethink and improve the emergency system’s structure and finances. Reforms aimed at speeding up hiring and ensuring adequate staffing on ambulances are also being considered. Furthermore, ongoing efforts to improve pre-hospital emergency care continue, although specific interventions targeting ambulance births are not fully detailed in current sources.
While no explicit programs targeting ambulance births have been announced, these broader emergency healthcare reforms and efforts to fill nursing vacancies are the main steps underway to improve timely maternity care and reduce births occurring during transport.
It's important to note that the Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins, has acknowledged the need to ensure fewer babies are born in ambulances, emphasizing the importance of maintaining maternal and infant health indicators. However, she also mentioned that similar situations have always occurred.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Firefighters League has expressed concerns about management difficulties due to constraints in emergencies. They believe that more ambulances are needed in fire departments to respond to all requests, as firefighting corporations are currently facing longer intervention times for each pre-hospital emergency.
In a recent incident, a baby was born in an ambulance on the A22 motorway near Faro, Portugal, early Friday morning. The mother and baby arrived at the hospital in Portimão at 05:50. The birth was attended by a doctor on the Emergency Medical Service and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER).
As the Portuguese government works to address this pressing issue, it's clear that improving emergency response times and ensuring the availability of healthcare professionals on ambulances is crucial for the safety and wellbeing of expectant mothers and their newborns.
What can be done to reduce the number of babies born in ambulances in Portugal? The Portuguese government and INEM are taking steps such as conducting a technical commission to rethink and improve the emergency system's structure and finances, considering reforms aimed at speeding up hiring and ensuring adequate staffing on ambulances, and improving pre-hospital emergency care. Additionally, maintaining maternal and infant health indicators is a priority for the Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins. Furthermore, the Portuguese Firefighters League has expressed concerns about management difficulties due to constraints in emergencies, suggesting that more ambulances are needed for fire departments to respond to all requests.
