An 11-month-old infant died in Portimão, in the southern region of Portugal, after a six-hour delay while awaiting transfer from a hospital. The wait occurred because the ambulance fleet was temporarily unavailable due to a shortage of doctors qualified to operate neonatal and pediatric transport services. The tragedy underscored ongoing strains in emergency medical care and the pressures faced by regional health systems trying to move critically ill children to facilities that can provide appropriate levels of care.
Local media reported that the incident happened on a Friday, with the child remaining in limbo for several hours before being moved to a hospital that could deliver the necessary pediatric support. The delay meant the infant faced a prolonged period without access to specialized resources during a critical time, raising concerns about triage, transfer protocols, and the speed at which higher-level care can be mobilized in rural or semi-urban areas.
The interhospital pediatric transport ambulance serving the Algarve region was out of service because there was no doctor available to provide neonatal intensive care during the transfer window. This meant the patient could not be moved to a facility with capable intensive care units in a timely manner, spotlighting systemic issues related to staffing, shift coverage, and the distribution of critical care capabilities across the region.
In a last-resort effort, a helicopter transfer was arranged. Unfortunately, during the outbound leg from the origin hospital, the child experienced cardiac and respiratory arrest and could not be revived. The outcome has prompted scrutiny of the decision-making process behind relying on air transport in time-sensitive emergencies and whether other viable alternatives were explored earlier in the chain of care.
Rui Lázaro, president of the Association of Pre-Hospital Emergency Technicians, told CNN Portugal that there were potential alternative strategies that could have been activated, such as dispatching a medical team by helicopter directly to Portimão Hospital to stabilize the patient on-site before transfer, or arranging rapid mobilization of available resources from neighboring centers.
According to statements attributed to health authorities, the Algarve Hospital and University Center said that all technical and human resources were available, yet the persistent resource shortages in emergency departments over the past year have been well documented. Facilities have faced weekend closures and staffing gaps in both general emergency services and maternity units, which can hamper rapid response to time-critical cases and complicate patient flow through the system.
There have been multiple highly cited cases over the past year that have drawn public attention to emergency department bottlenecks, including incidents where a baby died during childbirth while the ER was closed or where a pregnant woman died while being transported between facilities. These events have sparked discussions about the reliability of emergency transport networks and the need for robust contingency planning, especially in regions where access to specialized obstetric and neonatal care is unevenly distributed.