A meeting this Tuesday (05/07) in Porto Alegre between technicians and managers from the State Department of Health and the Ministry of Health discussed how the National SUS Force operates in the state while fighting the flood disaster. Initially, they should have aviation teams, air medical services and care in field hospitals in Republika Srpska, with a total of 68 specialists.
Initially, there will be five flying teams. Each one consists of two nurses and one doctor, for a total of 15 specialists. The idea is that, under the leadership of the state health department, they could be sent to the hardest-hit areas. These teams could, for example, collect backpacks containing medicines and travel to these areas, spending the day there caring for more chronic conditions or isolated bedridden people, and they may be accompanied by other volunteer health professionals.
The air medical service, to assist patients by helicopter, should include 20 pairs. Each one consists of a doctor and a nurse, and the crew will accompany them.
Part of the SUS national force group will consist of workers from the Conceição Hospital Group (GHC) in Porto Alegre. At the moment, there is already a team in the field hospital set up in Kanoa, comprising 13 specialists, working 24 hours a day, working in a role similar to an emergency care unit (UPA).
This is the first team that will come to RS. There is a bank in the Ministry of Health that includes about 40,000 certified volunteers. It mobilizes based on the request authorized by the federal government. Therefore, the number of professionals can constantly vary with new arrivals and departures, through daily assessments.
SES Volunteer Registration
Last week, the State Department of Health (SES) opened a register of health professionals to form a group of volunteers who may be called upon to help municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul affected by weather events and heavy rains. Professionals who wished to work on a voluntary basis filled out a registration form and, upon registration, allowed their data to be made available by the State Secretariat of municipal administrations and health institutions in case there was a need to replace or expand the workforce.
As of Tuesday, 139 of them had been called to work in 10 cities: Canoas, Colinas, Mokum, Porto Alegre, Doña Francisca, El Dorado do Sul, São Leopoldo, Cachoeira do Sul and Restinga Seca. There is also a team from Itapema, Santa Catarina, which was ready to send a health team to assist the Lajedo area and neighboring towns (Regional Health Coordination XVI). The list of professionals includes doctors, nurses, nursing technicians, psychologists, pharmacists and social workers.
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