Five Obstetricians Leave the Maternidade Alfredo da Costa to Rebuild Vila Franca de Xira's Service, Which Is Down to One Doctor

Five experienced obstetricians and gynaecologists from the Maternidade Alfredo da Costa (MAC), the largest maternity hospital in the SNS, will start work at Vila Franca de Xira hospital on 1 November, as part of a plan to rebuild an obstetrics service that is down to a single doctor, Observador reported on Wednesday.

The move was confirmed by the Unidade Local de Saúde (ULS) do Estuário do Tejo, which runs the Vila Franca de Xira hospital, and was coordinated by the national committee that oversees the gynaecology and obstetrics emergency network, according to a source close to the process.

A service down to one doctor

Vila Franca de Xira's gynaecology and obstetrics department has only one doctor left: its own director. Shortages over several years forced it to drop services one by one, and in April the government closed its obstetric emergency department and concentrated urgent care for the area at Beatriz Ângelo hospital in Loures. Gynaecological surgery has been suspended since August last year.

"In the second half of last year the service's activity was practically residual," the ULS told Observador, saying the rebuild was essential if it was to follow pregnant women, carry out planned births and offer consultations, tests and surgery again.

Six full-time specialists will join in November: the five from the MAC and a sixth recruited from Évora hospital. The aim, according to a source familiar with the process, is to bring back gynaecology and obstetrics consultations and surgery without relying on contracted locums, and in the short term to reopen the emergency department. The ULS does not commit to that officially. It says the regional emergency arrangement will be reviewed after 12 months, in April 2027, and that it considers the results so far positive.

What it means for the MAC

The impact on the MAC is less clear. One of the five doctors has already left, two have resigned and the other two will move under internal mobility, keeping their contracts with the maternity hospital. Observador said the departures include an obstetrician specialising in ultrasound and prenatal diagnosis and a gynaecologist who focuses on gynaecological surgery.

The ULS de São José, which runs the MAC, did not answer questions about the effect on the maternity hospital. It said only that the MAC has 50 to 60 obstetrician-gynaecologists on its staff, plus doctors in training.

Diogo Ayres de Campos, who chairs the emergency obstetrics committee, told Observador it is "in the country's interest" for the Vila Franca de Xira service to be reborn.

For expectant parents

The change does not alter where women go in an emergency today. Pregnant women in the Vila Franca de Xira area should still use the regional obstetric emergency at Loures, or call SNS 24 (808 24 24 24) first, which can direct them to the right hospital. Women followed at the MAC keep their appointments there. If the new team arrives as planned, routine consultations and scheduled births should gradually return to Vila Franca de Xira from November.

The concentration of obstetric emergencies in Greater Lisbon has been the model for other specialties: in September the government said orthopaedics would follow, citing a sharp fall in closure days. Our guide to registering a birth in Portugal covers what happens after delivery.