Analysis of the availability of the resources necessary for urgent and emergency healthcare in São Paulo between 2009-2013.

Introduction: The Regulatory Complex is the structure that operationalizes actions for making resources available to meet the needs of urgent and emergency care in the municipality of São Paulo. In the case of urgent care, needs are immediate and associated with high morbidity and mortality. Objective: To identify the most frequently requested resources, the resolution capacity and the mortality rate associated with the unavailability of a certain resource. Method: Our study was based on data from medical bulletins issued by the Urgent and Emergency Regulation Center (CRUE) in the city of São Paulo from 2009 to 2013. Results: 91,823 requests were made over the five years of the study (2009 to 2013). Neurosurgery requests were the most frequent in all years (4,828, 5,159, 4,251, 5,008 and 4,394, respectively), followed by computed tomography (CT) scans, adult intensive care unit (ICU) beds, cardiac catheterization, and pediatric ICU beds. On average, requests for neurosurgery, adult ICU, pediatric ICU, CT scans, catheterization and vascular surgery were answered in 70%, 27%, 39%, 97%, 87% and 77% of cases. The total number of deaths relating to requests for neurosurgery, CT scans, adult ICU, pediatric ICU, catheterization and vascular surgeon assessment were 182, 9, 1,536, 1,536, 135, 49 and 24 cases, respectively. Conclusion: There is a lack of resources to meet urgent and emergency needs in the city of São Paulo.