The State Department of Santa Catarina has filed a public civil suit against the state government to guarantee pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) at the Western Regional Hospital in Chapeco in the west of the state.

Action urgently demands a guarantee of treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Western Regional Hospital – Photo: Arquivo/ND

The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon (17) through the 3rd Chapeco County Attorney’s Office after an ND+ report denounced parents’ desperation over a shortage of neonatal intensive care beds at the city’s public hospital.

According to information sent by the hospital management to the State Public Ministry, there are currently three newborns waiting in the neonatal intensive care unit and six in children’s beds, and they need to be urgently transferred to other hospitals.

The neonatal department of neonatology of the HRH has 10 beds in the neonatal intensive care unit, 5 beds in the intermediate intensive care unit and 26 ward-type beds. “Overcrowding in the neonatal intensive care unit prevents the provision of urgent and adequate care to a child in serious condition and endangers his life,” the letter sent by the technical director of the HRC to the prosecutor’s office says.

Vania Augusta Sella Piazza, the prosecutor, points out in the lawsuit that overcrowding in newborn beds is a chronic problem. “The introduction of neonatal intensive care beds in the region and the expansion of intermediate intensive care beds in the Western District Hospital is relevant,” he notes.

It also emphasizes that the lack of comprehensive, free and effective provision of health services by the Government of Santa Catarina and the Municipality of Chapeco is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of children. “They put their health and lives at serious risk, clearly leaving the suffering and deprivation they endure next to their parents.”

Also, according to the State Attorney’s Office, the preliminary injunction is intended to force the state to buy, when needed, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, private units in the region or state until there are hospital vacancies. . SUS (United Health System), with care at the regional hospital in Oeste itself or with a safe trip to a nearby regional office.

Expansion of the medical staff of the Children’s Hospital

Back on Friday afternoon, the Ministry of State filed another lawsuit, but this time against the mayor’s office of Chapeco, the State of Santa Catarina and the Lenoir Vargas Ferreira Hospital Association, which operates the Children’s Hospital and the Western Regional Hospital.

Parents stand in line for their children to receive help. – Photo: Ezequiel Marsango/NDV Chapeco

The process contains an injunction for the Municipality of Chapeco, which has several pediatricians on its medical staff, to facilitate the transfer or employment of at least six pediatricians to the Children’s Hospital within 90 days.

The hospital management states that the hospital will need three on-call workers on a 24-hour shift, but only one doctor is on duty for several shifts in June. Currently, the Children’s Hospital employs 15 doctors, of which only six are pediatricians, and at least twice as many pediatricians are required for regular monitoring of children.

According to the prosecutor’s office, we are talking about guaranteeing the life and health of children who are at risk due to the lack of specialists who could help them in the Children’s Hospital.

What does the city say?

The City of Chapeco said in a note that it has not yet received formal notice from the Department of Public Administration of the action.

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The municipal administration of Chapeco has not yet received official notification of public civic action, so it is not yet officially aware of the demands. However, Santa Catarina is notoriously short of pediatric beds, and the city of Chapeco is also convinced of the need to expand ICU beds at the Western Regional Hospital, which is the responsibility of the state. As for the Hospital da Crianza, which is run by a social organization with resources transferred from the municipality, the Chapeco Health Department has collaborated to improve care by providing specialists, as well as opening a Pediatric Care Center next door. SAIC, which provides assistance in the treatment of milder cases. Recently, 50% of consultations by free application have been opened in the service centers of the basic units (the rest by appointment) and a call has been opened for emergency hiring of doctors, in addition to the Open Competition.

What does the SC state say?

The government of Santa Catarina, through the Secretary of State for Health, said in a note that it had not yet been informed of the MP’s actions and indicated the number of open beds across the state, as well as projections.

The note also explains the demand for hospitalizations by “low vaccination coverage for various diseases, especially influenza (Influenza) and covid-19.”

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The State Government, through the State Department of Health (SES), provided an emergency amount of 14 million reais to restore the financial balance of the Western Regional Hospital, ensuring the continuity of patient care in the region. But it is important to emphasize that with regard to the Unified Health System (SUS), the Municipality of Chapeco is the overall manager of the HRO. In addition, these hospital resources are managed by the hospital department itself.

At a meeting held this Friday, 17 between Assistant Secretary of State for Health Alexander Lencina Fagundes, hospital management and representatives from the region, it was reported that there is already a schedule for the payment of overdue salaries to healthcare workers.

The SES informs that it has not yet officially been notified of public civil law actions demanding a preliminary injunction on guaranteed treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Western District Hospital and on expanding the number of doctors at the Children’s Hospital.

Santa Catarina currently has 6 new neonatal beds, 8 pediatric intermediate care beds and 6 pediatric intensive care beds. These are just the first of 82 beds made available, including pediatric and neonatal, that will be part of the care provided by the unified health service. In addition to the beds for pediatric patients, last Monday, the 13th, 10 new beds for adults in the intensive care unit and 17 beds in the infirmary were opened at the Florianopolis Hospital, with an investment that will amount to about 50 million reais contributed by the state.

The SES also informs that all patients awaiting transfer to an intensive care bed are provided with full assistance, as well as patients hospitalized in intermediate and ward beds.

In the Western Region, SES communicates directly with health care providers who have reported difficulty expanding due to a lack of specialized professionals in the region. A neonatal intensive care unit has recently opened in Curititanos. It is important to emphasize that, unlike the private network, public hospitals have a capillary system that allows beds to be distributed throughout the state according to the needs of each patient.

It should also be noted that the situation faced by public and private hospitals, which even caused the state government to declare a state of emergency at the beginning of the month, is a reflection of the low vaccination coverage for various diseases, especially influenza (flu). and covid -19. Because of this, SES is calling for vaccinations, especially for children and the elderly, who are more vulnerable, to be updated by following the country’s vaccination protocol.