Defender requests blockade of R$2 million from Belém City Hall after Hospital Pio XII suspends SUS services

The Public Defender's Office of the State of Pará (DPE) requested the Court to immediately block more than R$2 million from Belém City Hall's accounts.

The measure comes after the Pius XII Children's Hospital announced the temporary suspension, this Tuesday (27), of new admissions of children through the Unified Health System (SUS) due to the financial crisis due to the delay in municipal transfers.

In the document, the agency asks the Municipal Health Department (Sesma) to regularize payments and reestablish the flow of new care at the hospital within 24 hours, under penalty of a daily fine.

Sesma reported that the outstanding amounts total R$1,586,828.25, according to administrative and financial records. Of this total, R$904,615.93 corresponds to September and October 2024. The other R$682,212.32 refers to 2026.

Sesma also says "that the settlement of pending issues requires compliance with these procedures to guarantee the correct application of public resources".

In an official note released by the board of directors of Hospital Pio XII, the health institution states that it is facing a "serious financial bottleneck" resulting from the lack of payments by the city of Belém.

According to the hospital, the amount owed by the municipality exceeds R$2 million, of which R$1,115,156.14 are from invoices that have already expired and have not been paid, and R$906,715.05 refer to medical services that have already been provided, processed and approved, but which Sesma has not yet authorized the charge for.

According to Pius XII's administration, the crisis is worsened by a contract signed in 2016 that has expired since 2022. The hospital claims that the amounts transferred are ten years out of date and are incompatible with the current costs of children's medical and hospital care.

"Without these payments, it is impossible to keep employees' salaries, doctors' remuneration, the purchase of medicines, supplies and other expenses essential to the hospital's operation up to date", declared the hospital's executive director, Thiago Redig, in the official note.

Hospital Pio XII guaranteed that all patients who are already hospitalized will continue to receive medical assistance until they are discharged from hospital.

The emergency suspension is restricted to new admissions. Hospital care is provided exclusively by the SUS.

In the action sent to the Court, public defender Carlos Eduardo Barros da Silva argues that the stoppage of new beds at Hospital Pio XII generates a worrying ripple effect on public health in the capital.

"The suspension of new admissions to a hospital unit that is part of the complementary SUS network represents yet another factor of pressure on a system that already faces serious limitations", highlights the public defender in the document.

The Defender's Office also emphasizes that the fundamental right to health of children and adolescents is protected by the Federal Constitution and the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) with "absolute priority", and cannot be affected by contractual or financial differences between municipal management and private service providers.