Portugal Health Minister quits after pregnant Indian woman dies; Indian govt in touch with her family

An Indian pregnant woman died in Portugal while being shifted between crisis-hit hospitals that has led to the resignation of the country's health minister Marta Temido. The authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

 

The 34-year-old Indian woman suffered a cardiac arrest during an ambulance transfer from Santa Maria hospital, which had no vacancies in the neonatology service, to another hospital in the capital.

 

Speaking about the incident in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the incident as "unfortunate" and said the ministry was in touch with her family. "This is an unfortunate incident. We are in touch with her family," he said at a media briefing.

 

 

The tragedy follows a string of incidents this summer that critics blame on a staffing crisis across Portuguese natal units, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

 

Temido had been the health minister since 2018, and is credited with steering Portugal through the Covid-19 pandemic. But on Tuesday, the government said in a statement that Temido had "realised that she no longer had the conditions to remain in office".

 

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the woman's death was "the last straw" that led to Temido's resignation, the report quoted Portugal's Lusa news agency as saying. "I am grateful for all the work carried out by Dr. Marta Temido, especially in the exceptional period of combating the COVID19 pandemic. The @govpt continue the ongoing reforms with a view to strengthening the SNS and improving healthcare provided to the Portuguese,” Costa, an Indian-origin leader, said in a tweet.

 

 

These remarks came after the Portuguese government is being criticized for handling of staff shortages in maternity units, by temporarily closing some of them and forcing pregnant women to undergo risky transfers between hospitals.