"The Barreiro emergency room will close because it does not have the conditions to remain open," said Ana Paula Martins, who is being heard in the parliamentary health committee.

The minister told the deputies that the health professionals at Barreiro Hospital were subjected to an "inhuman effort" when the three obstetrics emergency rooms in the Setúbal Peninsula operated on a rotation model, due to a lack of doctors to ensure the functioning of all services.

Ana Paula Martins also stressed that the closure of the Barreiro emergency room does not mean that the obstetrics and gynaecology service, which has "highly" differentiated areas, "will stop doing its work and that scheduled deliveries will no longer take place" at that hospital.

"Babies will continue to be born in Barreiro, obviously. Not all births are emergencies," the minister emphasised.

The regional obstetrics and gynaecology emergency service for the Setúbal Peninsula will operate at the Garcia de Orta Hospital, with the Minister predicting it could be operational in March. A second emergency service of this type will also be created, involving the local health units of Vila Franca de Xira and Beatriz Ângelo.

During the parliamentary hearing, Ana Paula Martins also acknowledged her responsibility for the delay in publishing the Global Reference Framework for the National Health Service for the coming years, stating that she intends for this benchmark of indicators to extend until 2028.

She noted that this delay does not prevent local health units from already having an idea of the healthcare indicators they will need to address in the first quarter, taking into account historical healthcare demand. She anticipates that the contracting process with hospitals will be completed by the end of March.