Victim of a stroke, Jonair Alves da Silva (featured photo) died, aged 61, after waiting for more than 13 hours for an ambulance from the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu). The case happened in June 2023.
According to family members, the delay contributed to the patient’s death. In DF, Samu faces a chronic crisis, marked by the scrapping of vehicles and a lack of staff.
The patient’s nephew, support analyst Renato Silva Araújo, 45, followed every moment of the drama. On June 9, Jonair fell ill in P Norte, in Ceilândia. The patient was initially taken to the Ceilândia Regional Hospital (HRC). With a suspected hemorrhagic stroke, he was transferred to the Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (HBDF), where he underwent more tests. According to Renato, the medical team reported that he had suffered calcification in the brain. The patient returned to HRC and, to the family’s surprise, was soon discharged.
New hospitalization
“Three days later, my uncle fell ill at my mother’s house,” said Renato. The patient returned to HRC. According to the nephew, with his extremely serious condition, his uncle needed to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).
At 9am on June 14, Jonair got an ICU bed at a private hospital. At around 2pm, a Samu ambulance arrived at HRC. “But when he parked to take the patient, the driver said that the vehicle had a problem with the radiator. Water was leaking and the passenger could not be transported”, commented the analyst.
It gets worse
According to Renato’s report, doctors warned of the worsening of his uncle’s condition. “I took my car and went to the Samu base in Ceilândia. They told me that there would be no more vehicles. They were all broken,” she said.
Desperate, Renato sought transportation in every way to save his uncle’s life. However, a new Samu vehicle only arrived at HRC at around 10:30 pm, when Jonair was transferred to the private hospital. The medical team reported that the patient’s condition was irreversible. For the family, the delay in receiving care worsened the man’s health. “They said: in the next few hours, you will be informed of your uncle’s mourning,” recalled Renato.
The medical team adopted the necessary procedures so that other family members had the chance to say goodbye. After saying goodbye to his children and other relatives, around 1 pm on June 15, Renato witnessed his uncle’s departure. “The devices started to turn off. He wasn’t having a pulse. He died,” he lamented.
Renato filed complaints in the Chamber of Deputies and the Legislative Chamber (CLDF). For the analyst, the delay and the incident with Samu’s broken ambulance were crucial to the death.
“My uncle is not a number”
“My uncle could have severe consequences, but he would be alive. This delay in care took him,” she said. For Renato, the crisis at Samu is revolting. “We have great professionals and doctors in Samu, they are qualified people, but the State has not given due value to public health”, he warned. “My uncle is not a number. Each dead person is flesh and blood, they have a family. The death ends up generating a domino effect. Families suffer significant emotional and financial losses. These are not numbers”, he said.
To be able to pay for Jonair’s funeral, the family had to fundraise. In Renato’s assessment, measures need to be adopted to resolve the crisis and strengthen Samu. “I want justice. I want other people not to suffer the same fate as my uncle. It was a death sentence. I would have been able to save him. He would have…,” he pointed out.
Other side
Metrópoles contacted the Department of Health about the case and the Samu scrapping crisis. Until the last update of this text, the department had not responded to the report’s questions. The space remains open for possible demonstrations.
METROPOLIS
