Enzo, son of Rita de Cássia Santos, 31, turned one year old last month, but since birth, he only went to the doctor once, when he was three months old. “I’m going early to get a chip [para a consulta]I stand in line, but when it’s my turn, it’s over”, he says.
Marlene Santos, 55, mother of Rita, has also been waiting for three months for a return with the doctor to take serological tests done in May. “I have diabetes and thyroid problems, but I wasn’t taking medicine because they never have it at the health center. Now, I got the thyroid medication”, she says.
Both live in Favela dos Sonhos, a community with 200 families —about 800 people— in Ferraz de Vasconcelos (Grande SP), which has just been integrated into an unprecedented primary health care (PHC) project developed by Grupo Fleury, the NGO Gerando Falcões and the city hall of Ferraz.
The initiative is part of the Favela 3D program, developed by Gerando Falcões, which aims to “transform favelas into dignified, digital and developed environments”. The NGO develops other actions at the site, such as building brick houses, laying floors on the streets, installing electric lights and looking for ways to generate income, all with private partnerships and support from the local government.
The primary care project in Ferraz, launched last Monday (15), has a “phygital” format (physical with digital). The consultations will take place in a telemedicine booth, installed next to the community headquarters. A nursing technician will work in person, writing down clinical complaints, measuring blood pressure, temperature, checking weight and then passing the data on to the family doctor who will be on the tablet screen.
The service has a device called TytoCare, which allows the doctor to auscultate the heart and lungs, assess the throat and ear, hear stomach and gastrointestinal sounds, check skin images, body temperature and heart rate. All remotely and in real time.
At the end, if necessary, the patient will receive prescriptions for medicines and exams with digital certification, which will be validated at the UBS in the region, according to an agreement made with the city hall.
“We are going to make things simpler. But we already have a connection with the Municipal Health Department so that, in situations of need for referral, it can continue the care. The idea is to host and monitor people in the community , such as the chronically ill and children”, says physician Jeane Tsutsui, president of Grupo Fleury.
But, according to her, the teams from Fleury and Gerando Falcões will also be attentive to the needs of the community to, eventually, create specific actions, such as referral to specialists and monitoring of mental health.
The same PHC model, with a physical and digital service booth, will be implemented in Favela Marte, in São José do Rio Preto (SP), starting in 2023.
The closest family health unit to Favela dos Sonhos is UBS Jardim São Lazaro, 1 km away. According to Edu Lyra, founder and CEO of Gerando Falcões, the lack of doctors is the main complaint of residents in the health area. “People go to the clinic, the queue is too long for everything. Often, it’s a service that doesn’t need a queue, telemedicine solves it.”
Romero Lima, executive coordinator of the Ferraz de Vasconcelos Health Department, confirms that the lack of doctors is a major bottleneck. “The region is very deprived, the team we have is insufficient to ensure adequate care.” He says that the city will be committed to continuing the service.
In the region where the favela is located, there are 25,000 people linked to the UBS. The unit has four family health teams, in addition to 13 community agents.
Retired Amaro Mariano da Silva, 63, was the first resident to be consulted in the cabin. “I said everything the doctor asked correctly. There are people who lie to the doctor, but I think we have to tell the truth.”
The only complaint, according to him, is the “blurred view”, which will require a consultation with the ophthalmologist and serological tests.
Family doctor André Cassias, manager of digital primary care at Fleury, says that residents were consulted before deciding on the format of care in the favela and that it was their decision to opt for the primary care model.
According to him, the first six months will serve as a thermometer for the health needs of the residents, but the expectation is that 80% of the demands will be met by the project.
Pedro Mendonça de Oliveira is the family doctor responsible for the virtual care of the entire favela. For him, it is very important for the project to be part of a larger initiative that looks at other social determinants of health, not just symptoms, diagnoses and treatments.
“People get sick a lot because of the living conditions they have. And if I don’t pay attention to this reality, I will continue to dry ice, regardless of access to technological innovations.”
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
