The Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) received, on the afternoon of this Monday (19), a visit from representatives of the Public Ministry and the Public Defender's Office of Rio Grande do Norte. The meeting took place at the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Health Research (Anita), in Macaíba, and aimed to present the lines of care developed by the institution, within the scope of the Specialized Center for Rehabilitation (CER ISD), classified as level IV.
The visit was attended by public prosecutor Rebecca Nunes, from the Office for the Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and public defender Cláudia Carvalho Queiroz, coordinator of the Health Defense Center (NUDESA). They were received by the general director of ISD, Reginaldo Freitas Jr., by the coordinator of CER ISD, Camila Simão, and by the coordinator of health education activities, Samantha Maranhão.
During the visit, the representatives learned about Anita's structure, the community service flows, the multidisciplinary approaches used in caring for people with disabilities, and the role of ISD in training health professionals in the context of rehabilitation. Special attention was paid to the line of care aimed at monitoring children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), due to the state's shortage of vacancies for care for this condition in public health services.
“We know that the ISD offers an excellent service to the community. So, we can say that all expectations from the visit were met. We see how important professional training is to strengthening the SUS and how a structured service can meet the population’s demands,” noted public defender Cláudia Carvalho Queiroz.
Public prosecutor Rebecca Nunes, in turn, expressed concern about the increase in lawsuits seeking to guarantee access to health services for people with disabilities. For the prosecutor, the lawsuits expose weaknesses in the network of care for people with disabilities, which must be strengthened. “We need public services to work so that lawsuits are the exception. Lawsuits cannot be the path to access public services. To do this, we have to seek out successful experiences, such as that of the ISD, and invest in strengthening the Unified Health System in the state,” she stated.
For ISD's general director, Reginaldo Freitas Jr., actions such as the visit by representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public Defender's Office are essential to strengthen intersectoral care in the health of people with disabilities. He emphasized that knowing and understanding the work of the different actors in the network is a powerful strategy to promote inclusion, citizenship and equity in health.
“It was a very enriching interaction, of mutual learning and sharing of experiences that can generate good results for strengthening the Care Network for People with Disabilities in Rio Grande do Norte”, he assessed.
About ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.
