150 patients died at the National Hospital of Guido Valadares (HNGV) in January, prompting concerns from Member of Parliament Ilda Maria da Conceicao that the mortality rate is too high.
MP da Conceicao said it was a serious problem and the causes of death needed to be investigated.
“There were 150 deaths at the national hospital and this does not include the referral hospital or the health centres,” she said.
“Every year, the parliament approves a huge budget to assure good quality health care for people.”
Limited health budgets under previous governments meant hospitals had been understaffed, however deaths in hospital at those times had not reach higher than 50.
Now, despite more doctors and specialists, the mortality rate continues to climb.
MP da Conceicao said lowering the death rate required not just money, but good policies.
He said 833 people died at the hospital in 2013, with 645 deaths in the treatment rooms and 188 in the emergency room.
MP Benvinda Catarina Rodrigues said the problem was not confined to HNGV.
In January and February, 27 patients undergoing treatment at Baucau hospital died.
She said it was important to find out the causes of death.
HNGV General Director Domingos Soares said he was unable to give definitive answers about the cause of the high mortality rate as there was no complete database, with statistics coming from the Democratic Health Survey.
Soares said some of the patients who died were suffering from chronic diseases while others died from acute conditions.
