Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido resigned on Tuesday after broad criticism over her handling of recent staffing problems at public hospitals and the death of an Indian woman. The 34-year-old Indian woman reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest while being transferred between Lisbon hospitals.
The Health Ministry said in a statement Temido had decided to step down because she "realised that she no longer had the conditions to remain in office". In a separate statement, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said he had accepted her resignation and thanked Temido for her work, which included organising a successful vaccination campaign against COVID-19.
Who Is Marta Temido?
Temido has a law degree and a master's degree in health economics and management from the University of Coimbra, as well as a PhD in international health from the NOVA University of Lisbon. She took over health ministry office in October 2018, and was widely credited with successfully handling the country's vaccine rollout during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A member of the centre-left leaning Socialist Party, Temido’s popularity ratings suffered when the country began experiencing a short of healthcare providers, especially in the gynaecology and obstetrics department. The closure of some natal units lead to overflowing maternity wards and long wait times, with opposition parties, doctors and nurses pointing blame at the former health minister.
Costa said the woman's death was "the last straw" that led to Dr Temido's resignation. According to Centro Hospitalar Universitario Lisboa Norte (CHULN), at the Sao Francisco Xavier Hospital, the pregnant woman was "submitted to an urgent cesarean section, with the newborn, weighing 722 grams, going to the neonatal intensive care unit for prematurity".
There have been similar incidents across Portugal in recent months - including the separate deaths of two infants whose mothers had apparently been transferred between hospitals and endured long delays.
It said the government would push ahead with reforms to strengthen the national health service but gave no indication about Temido's replacement.
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