Maternidade Alfredo da Costa explained

Maternidade Alfredo da Costa
Org/Group:Central Lisbon University Hospital Centre
Location:Rua Viriato
Region:Avenidas Novas
State:Lisbon
Country:Portugal
Coordinates:38.7324°N -9.1471°W
Healthcare:National Health Service
Funding:Public
Type:Group III (Central Hospital)
Patron:Alfredo da Costa
Emergency:Yes
Speciality:Maternity hospital

Maternidade Alfredo da Costa (pronounced as /pt/, "Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital") is a public Central Hospital serving the Greater Lisbon area as part of the Central Lisbon University Hospital Centre (CHULC), a state-owned enterprise.

Established in 1932 as a specialised maternity hospital, Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital was created to replace the old and increasingly inadequate Enfermaria de Santa Bárbara (Saint Barbara Ward), in Saint Joseph's Hospital, then the only maternity ward in the city.[1] It evolved into a national reference centre in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, social assistance and scientific research;[1] it remains one of the largest maternity hospitals in the country (3,673 childbirths in 2017).[2]

Construction of the building, designed by Ventura Terra, lasted from 1914 to 1932, and was significantly delayed by the First World War, increased construction costs, and a chronically under-funded budget.[3] It is named after Manuel Vicente Alfredo da Costa (1859–1910), eminent surgeon and pioneering obstetrician who had lobbied for the creation of a maternity hospital in Lisbon since 1898.

On 21 January 1983, Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital was made a Honorary Member of the Order of Merit.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa . chlc.min-saude.pt . Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central . 11 January 2021 .
  2. Web site: Só há cinco hospitais com mais de 3 mil nascimentos por ano . pt . There are only five hospitals with over 3 thousand births a year . Campos . Alexandra . 26 August 2018 . . 11 January 2021 .
  3. Book: Nóbrega, João Dória . 2012 . Omnia Sanctorum: Histórias da História do Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos e seus sucessores . Omnia Sanctorum: Stories of the History of All-Saints' Royal Hospital and its successors . Maternidade Alfredo da Costa . Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital . Penedo . Jorge . pt . Lisbon . 167–179 . By the Book . 978-989-97317-6-9.
  4. Web site: Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas. Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. 12 January 2021.