Portugal Health Minister quits after pregnant Indian woman dies
The Hindu
Authorities have launched an investigation into the death of 34-year-old Indian woman’s death.
The tragic death of a pregnant Indian woman in Portugal while being shifted between crisis-hit hospitals here has led to the resignation of the country's Health Minister Marta Temido while authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
The 34-year-old Indian woman reportedly 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.
It follows a string of incidents this summer that critics blame on a staffing crisis across Portuguese natal units, the BBC reported on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
Ms. Temido had been the Health Minister since 2018, and is credited with steering Portugal through the CovID -19 pandemic.
But on August 30, 2022,. the government said in a statement that Ms. 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 Ms. 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.