With Covid-19 cases dropping in Brazil, the SUS clinical and ICU beds that opened temporarily during the pandemic are now being closed. Therefore, health secretaries are demanding that these ICU beds be definitively incorporated into the public network to cover the previous deficit.
Of the 14,843 adult and 249 pediatric ICU beds introduced by the Ministry of Health in the last sevon months, just over a third remain—5,233 adults and six pediatric, according to the folder.
The remaining number, however, would still be an incredibly significant addition to the pre-pandemic network. In January 2020, SUS had a total of 22,841 ICU beds. According to data from the Federal Council of Medicine, the private sector, which serves 22% of the population, had 22,586.
State and municipal secretaries are now trying to convince the ministry to maintain at least 5,000 ICU beds in regions that always lacked ICU beds, according to sources heard by the report and familiar with the talks.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon