BE questioned the Ministry of Health about the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Report on Maternal Mortality 2017-2018, “finished in January 2020” and known this Friday, which points to “an apparent increase in maternal mortality” in recent years. years.
In a question signed by the deputy and party leader, Catarina Martins, to which the Lusa agency had access, BE states that “it has been following with concern the increase in maternal mortality in Portugal.”
“It was at the hearing with the Director General of Health, in July of this year, that it was learned that the report on maternal deaths for the years 2017 and 2018 had been completed in January 2020, however, it was only made available to the AR today,” he says.
According to the blockers, the report concludes that “in recent years there has been an apparent increase in maternal mortality”, which may be related to the change in the characteristics of the pregnant population, highlighting the “progressive increase in the age of women in pregnancy and in pregnancy “delivery”; “more young women with complex congenital pathology reaching childbearing age” and “increased use of medically assisted procreation techniques”.
According to this question sent to the ministry chaired by the outgoing Marta Temido, in this report “several recommendations were made, many of them related to health policies and the organization and operation of SNS services.”
BE wants to know that “measures have been taken by the Government to implement these recommendations contained in the report finalized in January 2020”.
“Are women with previous pathology who are at risk referred to a preconception hospital consultation? What is the average waiting time for these consultations”, she asks, also wanting to know if pregnant women with complex diseases are being referred for hospital obstetric care and what is the average waiting time for these consultations.
The blockers also ask the Government if the support of psychiatry, psychology or a social worker is guaranteed whenever it is considered necessary and if “multidisciplinary monitoring and surveillance of postpartum women with morbidities that present risks” is carried out.
“Have the response times for obstetrics been defined as recommended? Which? And what is the compliance rate?”, they still wonder.
Precisely on Wednesday, the PSD requested that this report on maternal mortality be urgently sent to parliament, alleging that the General Directorate of Health promised to send it to the Assembly of the Republic at the end of July, which has not yet happened.
Source: Observadora
