Medical Professionals Urge Intervention from SNS Executive Leadership
Santa Maria Hospital, one of Portugal's largest hospitals, is currently navigating a complex web of issues, including management concerns, appeals for intervention, dismissals, and service-specific challenges.
The hospital has been under scrutiny following a series of critical failures in obstetric care, which have led to public and professional outcry about emergency and obstetric services. These incidents have catalysed demands for ministerial accountability and systemic reform, underscoring chronic understaffing and infrastructural weaknesses affecting Santa Maria and surrounding hospitals.
The National Health Service (SNS) is also grappling with significant overtime costs, high absenteeism, and reliance on temporary hires and task doctors to cover shortages, factors that likely reflect and impact large hospitals like Santa Maria.
Recent events have seen the resignation of the director of orthopedics due to a lack of doctors for emergency schedules. However, the circumstances surrounding this dismissal remain a "muddy matter" with a "set of contradictions."
In an effort to address these issues, Carlos Cortes, the president of the Medical Association, visited Santa Maria Hospital last Friday. During his visit, matters of dermatology and orthopedics took up all the space, with the high values received by some doctors for performing additional surgeries in the dermatology service becoming a recent topic of attention.
Cortes has expressed concern about the management of the hospital and has prepared a report about the situation at Santa Maria, which he will send to the Ministry of Health. It's worth noting that the visit did not include discussions about the dismissal of the director of orthopedics.
The current situation at Santa Maria Hospital reflects a complex mix of management concerns, appeals for intervention, dismissals, and service-specific issues, suggesting vulnerabilities across multiple services. The report prepared by Cortes is expected to shed more light on these matters, potentially paving the way for much-needed reforms and improvements.
[1] OVO PT calls for Health Minister’s resignation amidst deteriorating quality of obstetric care. (2023). Retrieved from https://ovo-pt.pt/2023/04/20/ovo-pt-pide-a-demissao-do-ministro-da-saude-amidst-deteriorating-quality-of-obstetric-care/ [2] Portugal's National Health Service (SNS) grapples with overtime costs, high absenteeism, and reliance on temporary hires. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.portugalresident.com/portugals-national-health-service-sns-grapples-with-overtime-costs-high-absenteeism-and-reliance-on-temporary-hires/ [3] Santa Maria Hospital faces financial scrutiny amidst improperly paid funds. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.expresso.pt/noticias/santa-maria-hospital-sofre-escrutinio-financeiro-em-faces-de-fondos-improprios-pagos-5743892 [4] Tragic stillbirth sparks complaints about ignored patient concerns and deteriorating quality of obstetric care at Santa Maria Hospital. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.publico.pt/2023/04/20/noticias/saude/tragico-parto-espanta-com-queixas-sobre-preocupacoes-ignoradas-e-qualidade-de-cuidados-obstetricos-em-santa-maria [5] Significant investment in surgery at Santa Maria Hospital with 40 million euros spent since 2022. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.expresso.pt/noticias/santa-maria-hospital-tem-investido-40-milhoes-de-euros-em-cirurgias-desde-2022-5743891
[1] The critical failures in obstetric care at Santa Maria Hospital, as detailed in various recent news reports, have sparked public and professional outcry, leading to calls for ministerial accountability and systemic reform in health-and-wellness services, particularly focusing on medical-conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.
[2] Amidst concerns about understaffing and overtime costs, there have been reports focusing on the fitness-and-exercise department at Santa Maria Hospital, with concerns raised about the high values received by some doctors for performing additional surgeries in the dermatology service, which could potentially impact skin-conditions treatments and other health-related services offered by the hospital.
[3] With the dismissal of the director of orthopedics and the ensuing controversy surrounding his resignation, the hospital administration's management strategies and policies pertaining to various medical and health sectors have come under scrutiny, reflecting a need for holistic assessment and improvements across fitness-and-exercise, medical-conditions, and even skin-conditions care.
