Patients die Daily in Rio de Janeiro’s Public Hospitals Waiting for a bed in ICU

By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Public Defender’s Office announced on Thursday that it will sue both the government of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal government for insufficient beds.

A survey carried out by the Federal Public Defender’s office based on data by the State Regulation Center and the National Registry of Health Establishments found that the number of patients waiting for hospital admission was 123, on April 18th.

The public civil action announced by the authority intends to urge governments to expand hospital bedding.

The Public Defender’s Office stated that many people in serious condition remain in UPAs (Emergency Care Units), which lack of adequate means to care for these patients. According to the survey, six people die each day on average in Rio de Janeiro, due to lack of intensive care.

In total, the survey shows that there are at least 131 ICU beds for adults and 65 for children.

According to the figures, this year alone 429 people died without receiving adequate care for their disease. According to the Public Defender’s Office, this concerns patients in serious condition waiting to be transferred from municipal and state Emergency Care Units.

The RJ Secretary of Health said that regional regulations have been reinforced in order to expedite patient transfers.

On Thursday (2nd), the Ministry of Health reported that, from 2010 to 2018, there has been an increase in the number of ICU beds in Brazil.

According to them, the State of Rio de Janeiro had 2,176 ICU beds in 2010. By 2018, the number has grown to 2,507 beds.

According to the ministry’s assessment on the issue, “new beds must be requested by the local management. The availability and release of resources is granted through project submission which is then duly studied by the commission”.

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