Castro cuts 79% of waiting list for psychological care in public network

The queue for psychological care in Castro was reduced by 79% after a series of changes promoted by the Municipal Health Secretariat. According to the City Hall, the reorganization of the service, the creation of protocols and the increase in the number of professionals contributed to broadening the population's access to the public mental health network.

At the beginning of 2025, almost 3,000 people were waiting for a consultation with a psychologist in the municipality. Currently, the queue is approximately 630 patients, which represents a reduction of about 2,400 people.

The Psychology Department has been reorganized.

Among the measures adopted by the Department of Health is the creation of protocols to standardize all the stages of care, from referral of the patient to consultation with the professional.

The initiative also involved the training of the teams responsible for attending and monitoring the users of the public network.

In addition, there was an enlargement of the staff of psychologists, with professionals competing, accredited and also hired through CimSaúde.

With the reinforcement of the teams, patients who were waiting for care since 2020 could be called.

Attention was also extended to the interior

The expansion of the service occurred both in the urban area and in the interior of the municipality.

In addition to the services carried out in the city, psychologists began to work in the districts of Socavão, Abapan and Tronco, facilitating the access of residents of these regions to psychological follow-up.

According to the Ministry of Health, the reorganization is part of the strengthening of the Castro Psychosocial Care Network.

“Less than 2,400 people in the Psychology queue. This result shows that we are making progress in reducing the waiting time and expanding the mental health care of the population,” says the municipal secretary of Health, Matilvani Moreira.

Mutirão helped revise queue

In August, the Municipal Secretariat of Health conducted a screening mutirão with patients who were still waiting for psychological care.

Since then, the queue has been monitored weekly by professionals in the area. The objective is to identify priority cases, update the registrations and give faster referrals.

“We are seeking to requalify the waiting list, identify the cases that need more urgency and give more agility to access the service,” highlights the coordinator of the Secondary Care of the municipality, Carla Iezak.

The queue for consultations with psychiatrists also showed reduction. According to the municipality, the fall was approximately 9%.

Secretary Warns of Missing Consultations

The Department of Health reinforces that patients should attend the appointments on the scheduled date and time.

If it is not possible to be present, the guidance is to notify the professional responsible for the care or the Basic Health Unit (UBS) of reference in advance.

In this way, the consultation can be rescheduled and the vacancy made available to another patient who is awaiting care.

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