Photo: Florianopolis City Hall

Florianopolis is investing in primary health care and will increase the number of family health teams to 209 in the coming months. Today, there are 167 teams in the capital that are responsible for the first contact of users in the municipal health system. The recruitment of 42 new teams in 2023, representing a 25% increase in coverage in the city, was announced on Tuesday (11) during an event where the agreement between the municipality and the Ministry of Health was officially signed.

The event was attended by the Minister of Primary Health Care, Necio Fernández, and the Governor of the Ministry of Health in Santa Catarina, Silvio da Costa.

Once this goal is achieved, Florianópolis should have the best primary health care in Brazil. “Strengthening primary health care brings many benefits to the municipality, but mostly to citizens. The proposal is to increase and facilitate the population’s access to healthcare services in the municipality, ensuring a better quality of life. This is due to the fact that at the Health Center we are attentive to the prevention of diseases, which in developed countries require much more investment,” emphasizes Florianopolis Mayor Topazio Neto.

Photo: Florianopolis City Hall

Increasing the number of specialists will reduce the workload on each team, thereby reducing the proportion of patients in the team and allowing consultations and home visits to be offered more effectively, explains Talita Christine Rosinski, Florianopolis Deputy Minister of Health.

There are currently around 3,400 people on average per team, but with these measures, that number will be reduced to 2,570. “This new index is in line with international standards for European countries, reflecting a significant improvement in the quality and efficiency of primary health care, in this aspect it is the gold standard,” says Talita.

First user contact with the public health network

The family health teams are located in urban health centers and are the user’s gateway to the public health network in Brazil. These groups, consisting of at least one doctor, one nurse, one nurse and one community representative, deal with all situations that reach the basic units, any population life cycle, and do everything from watching a child in infancy to the elderly. when they start having memory loss or other health problems such as high blood pressure.

Florianopolis’ family health strategy, explains Florianopolis’ deputy health minister, prioritizes comprehensive care and management of patient care, and is responsible for referral to other levels of care when needed.

She also explains that depending on the population served, the number of teams may vary in each health facility.

One of the important features of this strategy is the possibility of home care, which is carried out through scheduled visits. These visits are for cases such as bedridden patients, people with physical disabilities or special mental health needs. In addition, squad professionals also carry out preventive and care activities in the territory, meeting the needs of the population in their context.

More units with extended run time

Photo: Florianopolis City Hall

In addition to family health teams, the number of health centers with extended hours from 7:00 to 19:00 will also gradually increase from 29 to 37, with full teams throughout the service period. The multidisciplinary team will also be strengthened, reaching 100% coverage in this area.

The investment also includes Oral Health, which has between 80 and 104 teams providing 100% of the installed dental chair capacity. Street Office services will also be expanded, in addition to the addition of a dental machine.

Floripa More health

Florianópolis is also building the first municipal day hospital. The new structure, located in a large wellness complex in the old airport building, will provide a range of new services, such as a 24-hour Psychosocial Care Center and a community optical store that will offer free eyeglass frames and lenses.

These actions are part of the Floripa Mais Saúde program, which already includes other improvements previously implemented by the city of Florianópolis, such as the introduction of telemedicine in Alô Saúde and the opening of the Policlinica da Mulher e da Criança.