SNS. Six emergency rooms closed on Saturday and eight on Sunday

Five Gynecology and Obstetrics emergency services will be closed on Saturday and seven on Sunday, according to official information, which also indicates the closure of the pediatric emergency department at Vila Franca de Xira Hospital over the weekend.

According to the emergency scales published on the SNS Portal, the Gynecology and Obstetrics emergency departments at the Nossa Senhora do Rosário Hospital, in Barreiro, Vila Franca de Xira Hospital, Caldas da Rainha District Hospital, Infante Dom Pedro Hospital, in Aveiro, and Santo André Hospital, in Leiria, are expected to close on Saturday.

These services will remain closed on Sunday, when the emergency departments for these specialties at Hospital Garcia de Orta, in Almada, will also be closed, while the Obstetrics emergency department at Hospital Distrital de Santarém will be closed.

The Gynecology and Obstetrics Emergency Service at Hospital São Francisco Xavier, in Lisbon, will only receive, during the weekend , cases referred by the Urgent Patient Guidance Center (CODU) of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).

On Sunday, the emergency service for these specialties at Hospital Doutor Manoel Constâncio, in Abrantes, will also only receive patients referred by INEM, between 9:00 pm and midnight.

During the weekend, the pediatric emergency department at Amadora-Sintra Hospital will also be fully staffed, receiving only internal emergency cases or those referred by INEM or the SNS 24 line, according to information available on the SNS Portal, consulted by Lusa at 11:00 today.

The schedules, updated by hospitals, also indicate that around 128 emergency services will be open across the country, in addition to around 30 gynecology and obstetrics services that will be operating as part of the pilot project, which requires users to contact the SNS 24 hotline in advance.

The constraints on emergency services are mainly due to the lack of specialist doctors to staff the shifts, a situation that is more common during holiday periods, such as summer.

Health authorities urge the public to contact the SNS24 Line (808 24 24 24) before going to an emergency room to receive appropriate guidance.