Despite advances in recent years, complementary beds (ICU and intermediate care) in the State of Amazonas remain concentrated in the city of Manaus, capital of the state. In the regionalization process, the city functions as a health macro-region, receiving patients of medium and high complexity in outpatient clinics and hospitals from the other 61 municipalities that are part of the nine Health Regions, highlighting the healthcare gap for some specialties and the need for investment to ensure access and resoluteness in the most distant regions.
Considering this scenario, the Department of Interior Assistance of the State Health Department of Amazonas (SES-AM), has been constantly working in the perspective of decentralizing services and improving the supply of specialties in five priority municipalities in the interior of the state, in which Tefé is included in this priority.
Located 523 km from the capital of the state of Amazonas, the city has only two hospitals, with an emphasis on the Regional Hospital of Tefé (HRT/AM), which meets the demands of the SUS. The Hospital’s Nursing Management is under the management of nurse Laís D’Ávila Moriz Araújo, 29, who presents the territory as: “Polo municipality referring to adjacent municipalities of the Middle Rio Solimões e Afluentes, which has a deficient infrastructure, however, in constant improvement, with air and river access”, but that still “has restricted air access, as commercial flights are not available every day, as well as river access depends on the time of drought, limiting the entry of vessels ”, a reality that can hinder the arrival of investments and inputs.
This difficult scenario is not restricted to the moment of health crisis. As Laís points out, the territory has always faced challenges related to the lack of physical structure/quantitative beds and the difficulty in hiring health professionals. “However, with COVID-19, structurally, many changes have occurred, where the unit is more prepared and equipped, managing to maintain the expansion of another 67 beds, as well as the professional staff, which currently remains more than doubled”, he says Lais. Still with this scenario of improvement, due to the efforts of this project, the manager highlights that as in other municipalities in the state, “[Tefé] still suffers from the pandemic in terms of supplies and the hiring of specialist professionals in the health area.”
Laércio Damião Soares Lopes, a specialist in People Management and General Director of the Hospital, also reported the importance of equipment in the care of hospitalized patients. “The donation made the Regional Hospital of Tefé with two units of electric ICU beds, multi-parameter monitors, ventilators and aspirators, all of which were directed to COVID’s Incident Command System, improving the quality of care provided, as well as greater support for patients who need ventilatory support and bringing comfort and stability to patients classified as having a more severe clinical condition”.
As the municipality was already considered by the Health Department as one of those that would receive investment to expand its service capacity, the ICU bed donation project acted in conjunction with the public sector, supporting the optimization of the investment of public resources , having as counterpart the hiring of human resources for the operationalization of the beds.
It is worth noting that ICU beds were not a reality at the Hospital Regional de Tefé and that donations made it possible to manage critically ill patients: “The unit continues to be better prepared and with more qualified professionals, aiming at a constant improvement in the service provided. Having the perspective of being able to offer the most perfect service”, concludes Laís.