Municipality takes over management of federal hospitals in Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall began the restructuring and new management operation of the Andaraí (HFA) and Cardoso Fontes (HFCF) hospitals this Monday (December 09). Mayor Eduardo Paes, accompanied by the elected vice-mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, and the municipal health secretary, Daniel Soranz, visited Andaraí to monitor the first stage of the recovery schedule.

– This is a very important moment in Rio’s public health, the municipalization of these two units. We are talking about almost 700 new beds being absorbed by the municipal network. Today, we are taking over Andaraí and Cardoso Fontes and we hope that, in a year’s time, little by little, we will be able to reopen several beds and closed sectors. We will reopen the emergency room, continue with the high complexity units and the burn unit, which is a tradition in Andaraí. In short, we will get these two units, which are so important for the city, up and running again – said the mayor of Rio.

Of the total of 700 beds absorbed by the municipal network, only 280 are currently in operation: 169 at the Andaraí hospital and 111 at Cardoso Fontes. And this is just one of the serious problems found by the City of Rio with the equipment.

– It's crazy that a hospital with a capacity for almost 450 beds has entire floors closed, has no kitchen for 15 years and is receiving hot meals. We will improve, but there's no magic – stressed the mayor of Rio, who aims to present some results of the reforms in a year's time.

The City Hall team will immediately get to know the clinical staff of the units, the current flows and processes, and evaluate and plan future actions. The first interventions will be cleaning, hiring and reassigning professionals, expanding services and starting the necessary works. The complete plan for Andaraí includes renovations to the wards of the sectors, increasing the number of employees, modernizing the imaging center, the technology park and the elevators, and building a new kitchen.

– With the municipalization of these two large hospitals, we want to restore a network that has served the city of Rio de Janeiro so that we can ensure full care for the population. We hope that, starting next week, it will be immediately possible to see the support of the Municipal Health Department in these two units that are considered essential for the population of Rio. For the first time, we have a structured plan for these two hospitals, which have not received any investment for a long time. Many projects are halted and many sectors have been destroyed – explained Secretary Daniel Soranz.

The plan is to open the new emergency room in January 2026, but the other closed floors will be opened in October of next year. The goal is for the unit to double its production and reach 167 procedures per year in 2026. And in the first quarter of 2025, reopen the emergency department and perform an average of 300 appointments per day. The hospital currently has 2.560 professionals and will have 3.320.

To expand the Imaging Center, a new CT scanner will be installed, in addition to receiving magnetic resonance imaging equipment and reinforcement for the ERCP service. There will also be an increase in oncological procedures. The expectation is to triple the number of exams and procedures performed. The goal is to offer access with greater quality, while maintaining the complexity of care provided by the Andaraí Hospital.

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December 9, 2024

Appointments: Cardoso Fontes Hospital Andarai Hospital beds Municipalization municipal network units