The death of a pregnant woman who could not receive treatment in Lisbon’s main hospital because of a lack of capacity has been met with outrage in Portugal, where a months-long health crisis has shut emergency services across the country and put maternity care under extreme pressure.

The 34-year-old woman was admitted to Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital on 23 August with respiratory problems and high blood pressure. Owing to a lack of space in the neonatal service, she was transferred to another hospital, but she died after a heart attack in the ambulance.

Her baby, born at 30 weeks weighing 772g (1lb 11oz), survived.

The health minister, Marta Temido, in office since 2018 and throughout the Covid pandemic, resigned this week after the case came to light. She said in a short statement sent to the Guardian that she “no longer had conditions to stay in office”. The prime minister, António Costa, said the woman’s death was “the last straw” for Temido.