Patients wait for care in corridors of the South Hospital Complex in Manaus

A father who could lose his foot after twenty-one days in the hospital. A woman who waited two days to receive care after losing her baby. The reports come from those who sought out the Complexo Hospitalar Sul, formed by the Instituto da Mulher Dona Lindu and the Hospital e Pronto-Socorro 28 de Agosto, and say they found a crowded corridor instead of a bed.

As there are no more beds available, the hospital corridors have been transformed into places of hospitalization. Patients and companions occupy all possible spaces. Those in the corridor complain that the service is not good.

In the crowded ward, there are seriously ill patients who do not go to the ICU because there are no vacancies. One of them, a man who preferred to remain anonymous, arrived on August 10 after suffering a heart attack and finding water in his lungs and kidney problems.

At first, he stayed in the red room while waiting for a place in the ICU. According to family members, instead of going to the ICU, he went to the infirmary. And his condition got worse.

- "Sir, are you okay? Are you being treated well?"

- "Well, well, I'm not here, I'm here", he replies.

His daughter, who prefers not to identify herself for fear of reprisals, tells us about the care provided to her father.

"I remember well that, when I went to get my father's report, the doctor said that he would remain in the red room and that, at any moment, he could go to the ICU. I also confirmed: doctor, is he still going to the ICU? And he was very clear: yes, he will, because the condition he suffered from, a heart attack, he has to go to the ICU, it is mandatory for him to go to the ICU".

She reveals that when she arrived home on the same day, she received a call from a social worker informing her that her father would be transferred to the infirmary. Since then, 21 days have passed. The lack of care, according to the daughter, also damaged her father's foot, which will be amputated.

"He started to get worse, his foot, which was just a scrape, you know, that was supposed to be done. Nowadays, his foot can't be saved, you know? They let my father's foot get to this issue, because they, like, my father wasn't getting any treatment in the infirmary", he said.

Due to a lack of beds, patients are left in the corridors of the South Hospital Complex. — Photo: Rede Amazônica

At the Dona Lindu Women's Institute, which is part of the Hospital Complex, a woman identified as Elaine Bentes Nogueira is in severe pain because she lost her eight-week-old baby. And, in the video recorded by the family last week, she had been waiting for two days for the medical team to remove the fetus.

Her mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, gave more details about what happened to her daughter.

"So, the doctor, the nurse, always said that there were always more serious cases than my daughter's to go there. Women who arrived already in labor, others who arrived with a 6 to 8 month old baby in the womb already ready to go, already deceased, right".

Last week, Elaine's family filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office so that she could receive the necessary care at the hospital. After the complaint, the fetus was removed and Elaine was discharged.

"I think it was negligence, not just for me, I'm not just speaking for myself, I'm speaking for the other people who were there too, you know. But for me, for my daughter, it was negligence, because if it was a quick thing, 3 hours, 4 hours of procedure alone, why did they let my daughter wait all that time? She came in on Tuesday afternoon, and left on Thursday morning, understand?"

Woman waited two days for care to remove fetus. — Photo: Reproduction/Social Networks

The Social Organization Agir Saúde took over the management of the 28 de Agosto Hospital Complex in December 2024. Under a five-year contract, the Government of Amazonas committed to paying R$2 billion.

In 2026, 'OS' should receive around R$400 million, of which 260 have already been paid. With the new management, the State Government announced that the hospital would offer more resources and structure for the population. Whoever is there has another conclusion.

"And when people say that it's a slaughterhouse hospital, no one is lying, understand? Because it really is, and I'm living proof of that, because I'm watching my father die. My father, he didn't come in as bad as he is now, understand? And I see my father, every day, saying goodbye to us because of them."

What the government says

In a statement, the Government of Amazonas reported that the two patients mentioned in the report received continuous monitoring by health teams.

The government also denied that the procedure carried out on Elaine occurred through the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Regarding the images of the hospital, Complexo Hospitalar 28 de Agosto reported that the locations shown are part of the emergency room flow and are not hospitalization areas.

28 de Agosto Hospital and Emergency Room, in Manaus. — Photo: Rede Amazônica