Protest with more than 100 crosses demands answers about deaths in ICUs at Hospital da Criança, in São Luís

Protest with crosses demands answers about deaths in ICUs at Hospital da Criança More than 100 crosses were placed in front of Hospital da Criança Dr. Odorico Amaral de Matos, in São Luís, this Thursday morning (16). The protest, organized by guardianship counselors and family members, demanded answers about deaths in pediatric Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and reports of possible failures in care. The number refers to the number of children who, according to complaints sent to supervisory bodies and the General Ombudsman's Office of the Unified Health System (SUS), died in the hospital's three pediatric ICUs in 2025. The complaints state that 113 children died in the unit that year and that 101 of these deaths occurred in the ICUs. ? Click here and subscribe to the g1 Maranhão channel on WhatsApp The Public Ministry of Maranhão (MPMA), the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), the Public Defender's Office of the State of Maranhão, the Ministry of Health and the Civil Police are investigating different aspects of the case. Suspicions increased after a change in ICU management. In October 2025, the Brazilian Institute of Medical Services (IBMED) took over the service through a contract with the City of São Luís. Professionals, family members and the Public Defender's Office claim that the hiring would have reduced the number of doctors on duty and allowed the work of professionals without the necessary specialization for pediatric care. IBMED and City Hall deny irregularities. According to them, the teams comply with the standards of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). See below what the authorities say. READ ALSO: Public Defender's Office says it found insufficient medical staff after inspection at the Children's Hospital Audit by the Ministry of Health at the Children's Hospital in São Luís lasts three hours and final report should be released in the next few days MP-MA investigates report of increase in deaths in ICUs at the Children's Hospital, in São Luís Protest with more than 100 crosses demands answers about deaths in ICUs at the Children's Hospital, in São Luís Juvêncio Martins/TV Mirante Protest occurs after audits The protest occurs two days after an emergency audit by the Ministry of Health and one day after an inspection by the Public Defender's Office at the Children's Hospital. In the inspection carried out on Wednesday (15), the defenders said they found a doctor without specialization in pediatrics and a number of professionals considered insufficient. The team also heard from family members who reported delays in care and lack of medication. The findings are preliminary and will be detailed in a report sent to the Municipal Health Department and the hospital management. Public Defender's Office says it found an insufficient team of doctors after inspection at the Children's Hospital Reproduction/TV Mirante The Public Defender's Office inspection lasted just over three hours and included representatives from the Health and Child and Adolescent Defense centers. The team analyzed medical schedules, the availability of medicines and materials and the conditions of care for hospitalized children. Public defender Davi Veras stated that the situation found reinforced concerns presented before hiring IBMED. "Some issues were clear. First, part of the team is not a specialist. We identified a doctor who was not a pediatrician. The number of doctors, by regulatory standards, is insufficient, does not meet demand and this, of course, will somehow compromise assistance", said the defender. The Public Defender's Office must also verify the training, professional registration and role performed by the aforementioned workers before concluding whether there has been non-compliance with the technical requirements. The institution also investigates possible underreporting of cases. According to Davi Veras, analysis of the unit's records and documents will be necessary to verify whether all cases were recorded correctly. The defender also investigates possible failures in assistance, such as errors in medication administration and care provided by professionals without specialization in pediatrics. The cases still need to be confirmed through technical analyzes and statements from families. Ministry of Health carries out emergency audit Audit by the Ministry of Health at the Children's Hospital in São Luís lasts three hours and the final report should be released in the next few days Reproduction/TV Mirante On Tuesday (14), a team from the National Audit Department of the Unified Health System (DenaSUS), sent from Brasília, made a technical visit lasting approximately three hours to the Children's Hospital. The director of DenaSUS, Rafael Bruxellas, stated that the audit was not part of a routine inspection. According to him, the action was motivated by complaints sent by family members to the General Ombudsman's Office of the Unified Health System (SUS). The reports pointed to a possible risk to the lives of children in vulnerable situations. Auditors must analyze medical records, contracts, work schedules, hospitalization records, mortality indicators and notifications entered into SUS systems. If it encounters problems that require immediate correction, DenaSUS may issue alerts and recommend that São Luís City Hall present an emergency plan. The report may also be sent to authorities responsible for criminal investigations if evidence is found that children died due to lack of assistance or inadequate care. During the visit, the department said it intended to publish the conclusions after comparing the data collected. Complaints question the ICU contract The Public Defender's Office says it alerted City Hall about flaws in the pediatric ICU contract. The Public Defender's Office has been monitoring, since 2025, the contracting process of the company responsible for the ICUs. According to Davi Veras, the Municipal Health Department was notified on August 4 of that year about possible flaws in the notice. IBMED began managing the units on October 13, 2025. One of the suspicions is that there are differences between the notice and the Preliminary Technical Study prepared by the Municipal Health Department itself. According to the Ombudsman's Office, the study provided for a different team than that adopted in the contract. The hospital has three ICUs: two with ten beds and one with nine. The Defender's Office states that the technical planning considered each ICU separately and provided for a greater number of responsible doctors. The contract, however, would have considered the 29 beds as a single unit to calculate the number of professionals. Employees and former employees of the hospital state, on condition of anonymity, that the three ICUs had a team of 53 doctors until October 12, 2025. According to reports, eight professionals worked in the morning, six in the afternoon and six at night. After the change of management, some shifts would have started to operate with just three doctors at the same time, one in each ICU. The complainants also claim that some of the new doctors on duty would not have experience or specialization in pediatrics. They report possible errors in medical prescriptions, lack of materials and medicines and difficulties during emergency procedures. The accusations still depend on the analysis of medical records, scales and statements. To date, they have not been confirmed in a conclusive report. Davi Veras also stated that, before signing the contract, IBMED had recognized that it did not have a complete team and tried to hire doctors who already worked at the hospital. The defender also said that the Presidente Dutra University Hospital suspended the sending of resident doctors to the Children's Hospital because it considered that there were not adequate conditions for teaching activities. This information must still be confirmed by the aforementioned institutions. Documents indicate 65 deaths in the first semester Internal documents gathered in the investigations indicate that 65 children died at the Children's Hospital between January 1st and June 30th, 2026. Of this total, 53 deaths would have occurred in the ICUs. According to the documents, the number represents an increase of 38.89% compared to the same period in 2025. The data still needs to be confirmed by the responsible bodies and compared with records from the Mortality Information System (SIM). Another document cited in the investigation indicates that more than half of the 31 deaths recorded in a SUS system in 2025 could have been avoided. These 31 records do not necessarily represent all deaths that occurred in the hospital that year. Parents say they had to buy materials Parents report death of baby after 17 days of hospitalization at the Children's Hospital in São Luís. Reproduction/TV Mirante One of the cases investigated is that of Otto, 9 months old, son of Leyciane Barbosa. According to the mother, the baby had cerebral palsy, microcephaly and West syndrome, a neurological condition that can cause epileptic seizures. The family claims that, during a previous hospitalization, Otto was transferred from the ICU to a ward even though he was not clinically able to leave intensive care. After worsening, the baby was taken to another children's hospital, where he recovered and was discharged. In January 2026, Otto was admitted to the Children's Hospital again with an intestinal infection. Parents claim that there was a delay in carrying out exams and procedures. They also say they had to buy gloves, probes and an anticonvulsant medication that cost around R$600. Otto died after 17 days in hospital. The death certificate lists septic shock as the cause of death. "I am completely convinced that my son died due to negligence. They never told us that he had sepsis or pneumonia", said Leyciane. The statement represents the family's version. The suspicion of negligence still depends on technical investigation and has not been officially confirmed. Police investigate deaths of twin brothers Patients' families report failures in care, lack of exams and reduction of teams Reproduction/TV Mirante The 4-month-old twins Bento and Bernardo were taken to the Children's Hospital on June 27 with flu symptoms. They were diagnosed with bronchiolitis, an infection that affects the small airways and can cause difficulty breathing, especially in babies. According to his parents, Samila dos Santos Lobato and Ismael, Bento presented the most serious condition. Bernardo would have initially remained in the medication room. During hospitalization, however, the health of the two babies worsened. Bento suffered two cardiorespiratory arrests. He was transferred to an ICU, but died. The death certificate records acute renal failure, pneumonia, pneumothorax and septic shock. Bernardo was intubated, but, according to his family, he was never transferred to the ICU. He died about 24 hours after his brother. "It's a horrible feeling knowing that I took my children alive. They looked at me, and I thought they were going to save my children's lives, but no," said Samila. The father filed a police report. The Civil Police opened an investigation to investigate whether there was a failure in the service and identify possible culprits. The investigation has not yet been completed. Professionals denounce reduction in medical staff Doctors, nurses and technicians interviewed on condition of anonymity state that the reduction in staff would have affected other sectors of the hospital, in addition to the ICUs. According to them, areas intended for stabilization and stay for short periods began to receive critically ill patients due to a lack of places in intensive care. A professional stated that a child suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest in an isolation bed without the case being immediately noticed. Another complaint indicates that two doctors had faced difficulties using a defibrillator while caring for a patient, who died. The investigation depends on the analysis of medical records, monitoring records, work schedules, protocols and statements from the professionals involved. Contracted company denies irregularities The Brazilian Institute of Medical Services (IBMED), a company contracted to manage the pediatric ICUs at Hospital da Criança, denies that it has reduced the number of professionals and states that there are no irregularities in the execution of the contract. According to the company's clinical director, Paulo Bayma, currently more than 20 doctors are part of the team responsible for care at the unit. "Today we have approximately 20 doctors. We brought professionals from various regions of Brazil who were willing to come here. Doctors came from Amazonas, Piauí, Ceará, São Paulo, and several states, so that pediatric medical care in our capital would not be interrupted," says the director. What do the authorities say? City Hall states that assistance followed technical protocols The São Luís Municipal Health Department reported that the audit conducted by the SUS National Audit Department (Denasus) is still in progress and that all requested information is being provided to the body. The department stated that it is in solidarity with the pain of families and reiterated that the data presented previously were extracted from medical records and reports. The agency also informed that, with the authorization of family members, it could make official documents available and highlighted that the assistance provided to patients followed current technical and care protocols, with conduct adopted according to the clinical evolution recorded of each child. occurred without prior communication to the body, unlike institutional inspections carried out by the Ministry of Health. Even so, according to the secretariat, the unit's team received representatives from the Ombudsman's Office and provided the requested information. The department highlighted that the Children's Hospital is a highly complex unit and that, therefore, access to the care areas must follow technical criteria related to patient safety, infection control and continuity of care. body, there was no prior communication about the specific object of the inspection and, to date, no information has been made available about any irregularities identified during the visit. City Hall denies omission of data. São Luís City Hall denied that there is a general shortage of supplies and medicines at Hospital da Criança. Regarding safety and quality of care, the city government stated that it monitors pediatric ICUs to avoid interrupting services or closing beds. and stated that all deaths registered at the hospital are officially reported to the Mortality Information System. According to municipal management, possible differences between local data and information available in federal public systems are caused by delays in processing and updating the national database. Contrary to what the complaint investigated by the Public Ministry points out, the city hall reported that there was no significant increase in the number of deaths at the Children's Hospital. According to the municipality, there was a variation of 4.5% between 2024 and 2025. The number of deaths increased from 112 to 117 in the period. The municipal management also stated that the ICU professional staff fully meets the requirements of the National Health Surveillance Agency, Anvisa. The city hall also reinforced that there are no official records of widespread shortages and that the supply of hospital materials follows continuous planning. Contract with IBMED Regarding the contracting of the Brazilian Institute of Medical Services, IBMED, the City of São Luís stated that the tender and the contract strictly comply with the legislation. The municipality also declared that the State Court of Auditors denied the requests for suspension of the contract and archived the representations presented against the municipal administration. Regional Council of Medicine The Regional Council of Medicine reported that it monitors the situation of the pediatric ICUs at Hospital da Criança. According to the agency, the objective is to guarantee the safety of care provided to patients and the working conditions of doctors. The council stated that it acts in accordance with the legislation and that it will take appropriate measures if irregularities are identified. Federal Public Ministry The Federal Public Ministry informed that it received the complaint about the situation at the Children's Hospital. The case will be analyzed by a public prosecutor, who will evaluate the adoption of the necessary measures to investigate the facts. Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health reported that it is already investigating the complaints sent to the SUS Ombudsman's Office about the deaths registered at the Hospital da Criança, in São Luís. A team from the National Audit Department of the Unified Health System, DenaSUS, was sent to the unit to analyze the situation in the pediatric ICUs and verify the information presented in the complaints.