Health Secretary fined R$ 3
The Court of Auditors also ordered modifications to the equipment in SAMU ambulances and the completion of the bidding process for telephone service.
Andressa Anholete _Brasília 247 – What the population that needs the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU) already knew was once again confirmed by the Court of Auditors of the Federal District (TDCF): the service needs improvement. Unanimously, the Court determined several measures to expedite the service. Furthermore, the Secretary of Health, Rafael Barbosa, was fined R$ 3 for failing to comply with the TDCF's recommendations with the necessary speed.
“As this is an essential and urgent service, we expected the Health Department to take action more quickly. Initially, the situation was much worse, but there is still much to be done,” stated the rapporteur of the process, council member Antonio Renato Alves Rainha.
Rainha also points out that the service has been unstructured for a long time and that the way it operates does not fully serve the population. The decisions were based on Inspection Report No. 001/2002-CONT/DAS, in which the General Inspectorate of the Federal District reports that, during an on-site visit, it found 12 ambulances parked in front of the SAMU Central and found that six did not have adequate equipment for emergency care.
The TCDF (Federal District Court of Accounts) also reinforced the determination to create its own staff framework, which had already been done in previous decisions. The Health Secretariat (SES) reported that the provision of SAMU (Mobile Emergency Care Service) services began exclusively with overtime to comply with the National Policy of the Ministry of Health and that, although it hired nurses and assistants in 2009, the number was insufficient to eliminate overtime. Regarding doctors and drivers, overtime remains at an average of 20.710 hours, which need to be authorized by the SES Permanent Overtime Commission.
The department has 30 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette of the Federal District to fulfill the requests. This deadline may be extended, provided that the Health Department presents the necessary justifications.
The audit process at SAMU (Mobile Emergency Care Service) began in 2007, through a representation made by federal deputy Érika Kokay, then a member of the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District, to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The last review of the process was carried out on April 24th and released this Thursday, May 3rd.
Check out the TCDF's rulings:
a) completion of the bidding process for the improvement of the SAMU telephone service system;
b) establishment of the Management Committee for the Emergency Care System;
c) Implementation of a computerized system to manage the maintenance of SAMU vehicles, use of a price list for parts provided by manufacturers, and designation of a professional with training in the area to manage vehicle maintenance;
d) to equip SAMU ambulances in accordance with regulatory standards, as well as to establish the necessary maintenance contracts for such equipment, as applicable;
(e) submit to this Court a schedule of actions to be taken to address the preceding items.