São Paulo – Patients and their families denounce the lack of information, cleaning, staff, items such as diapers, and the delay in administering medication, in addition to scheduling surgeries, at the Hospital Geral de Guaianases, in the far east of the capital of São Paulo .
After the publication of this report, the state secretary of Health, Eleuses Paiva, ordered the opening of an internal investigation to investigate the allegations.
Images taken by a patient in the orthopedics ward (watch below), on Thursday (28/9), and sent to Metrópoles this Sunday (1/10), show a man with both arms in plaster giving food to a man. The elderly man is kept strapped to a stretcher.
“This man there hadn’t been eating anything for days. Then the boy with both arms in plaster spoke nicely to him, and he ended up agreeing to eat. He wasn’t even supposed to be hospitalized in the orthopedics area, he seems to have psychiatric problems and is kept tied up so as not to attack the nurses”, reported the author of the images, who asked that his name not be published.
The patient also recorded on video the leaking of a toilet, whose water with feces invaded the room, ending up under the beds. Some diapers, according to the images, were used to try to contain the leak, without success. The problem was solved, according to the boy, after an electrician went to the scene. The images also show a syringe lying on the floor in one of the corridors of the health unit.
The same patient who made the records stated that he has been hospitalized for 11 days due to a fracture he suffered in a freight elevator while working.
He added that, in addition to structural issues, his medication is administered late and no information is given about the surgery he needs to undergo.
Patients without diapers and without information
The lack of information is also one of the problems highlighted by nanny Carla Marques, 42 years old. Her 16-year-old daughter has been admitted to the Guaianases hospital since August 18, when the young woman was involved in a car accident, along with her twin sister, who was treated at another health unit and has since been discharged.
“My daughter, who is hospitalized, needs surgery on her right arm. But so far it hasn’t been done and we don’t know when. She is young and is spending a lot of time in hospital. One of my fears is that she will have some consequences because of this delay.”
Carla added that she needs to pay out of pocket so that her daughter can wear diapers daily. According to the nanny, the item runs out quickly and takes a while to be replaced at the hospital on the east side.
In addition to the lack of diapers, the shortage of nurses is another problem, according to Carla. Because of this, she needs to stay in the hospital frequently to make sure her daughter stays clean.
“The hospital does not have enough staff to both care for patients and clean. Precariousness is not the fault of those who try to do something, but there are others who are still rude and treat people badly. We seem to not exist for them, it’s chaos.”
The nanny also stated that she has witnessed patients giving up and leaving, on their own, due to uncertainty about surgery schedules.
“Clowning”
A cleaning professional, whose mother is hospitalized in the east zone hospital, told Metrópoles that some employees shout at patients, after being questioned with complaints about the lack of structure in the place.
“My mother was scared of the way the nurse treated another patient. You need to know how to talk, otherwise, leave the vacancy for those who want to help people.”
The woman, who asked not to have her name published for fear of reprisals, also pays out of pocket for the diapers used by her mother and takes care of her relative’s personal hygiene. “This is all a joke. I didn’t know the hospital was like that. You can’t tell from the outside, but when you go in, you see it.”
A cousin of the cleaning professional added that the family has not received any kind of feedback regarding the family member’s surgery, who has been hospitalized at the Guaianases hospital for around a month, after fracturing her femur.
“We are at their mercy, we don’t know anything concretely that is planned for my aunt. They say we need to wait. It’s a lack of respect. We as citizens pay taxes and when we need an essential service we cannot take advantage of it. The hospital does not offer support, basic materials, it is very sad.”
Secretary of Health
State Secretary of Health Eleuses Paiva stated, in a note, that he had ordered the hospital director and the Health Services coordinator to go to the Guaianases unit “to investigate the facts reported in the report on site”. He also ordered the opening of an internal investigation to investigate the allegations.
“The secretary considers it unacceptable for situations like those reported in the report to occur in state units and will take all appropriate measures to identify those responsible for the irregularities and resolve the patients’ situation.”
Regarding the clogging of the bathrooms, the Department of Health stated that the problem was “one-off”, based on preliminary information from the unit’s management.
“Regarding diapers and medicines, occasional shortages were replaced with similar ones, without compromising patient care. The process of acquiring new medicines and supplies has already been carried out.”
The board of directors of the hospital in the east of São Paulo stated, through the Department of Health, that there is “no” lack of professionals in the unit and that the cleaning of the place is carried out by an outsourced company. “Patient feeding is carried out by the nursing team, but the companion often offers to assist in this process.”
Regarding the delay in scheduling the surgery for the 16-year-old girl, the ministry stated that she is monitored and is awaiting a place in “municipal regulation” to carry out the procedure.
