JUDICIALIZATION OF BEDS AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE DISTRITO FEDERAL

Abstract

Background: The number of lawsuits in health care throughout Brazil between 2008 and 2017 grew by 130%. In the Federal District, from 2005 to 2010, the most judicially requested goods were ICU beds. Objective: To analyze the lawsuits for ICU beds handled during the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Federal District. Method: The following data were collected in the SES-DF was date of action receipt and judicialized bed concession, date of death, type of health unit of origin of the plaintiff and destination of the concession, required support and priority classification of the plaintiff. Results: There were more judicializations during the second wave of COVID-19. Around 48.9% were from users hospitalized in the district's own public network, as well as about 63.2% of the beds were granted there. A large part of the plaintiffs (49.9%) claimed COVID-19 beds, and most had priority 1 clinical picture. The average response time to the injunctions was 1 day. Conclusion: The judicialization of health forms an important debate on the enforcement of individual and collective rights, and its pursuit of access is parallel to the regulation of access to SUS care, calling into question how effectively judicial claims can impact equity.