A ABEn na defesa intransigente do SUS

Abstract

The title of the 2015 Editor's Comments could very well be from a journal published in decades past, a time when, in Brazil, all professional entities and civil society fought for the right to health, as was later established in the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. Twenty-five years later, despite its financial limitations and restricted operational capacity to solve the population's health problems, the distribution and interconnectedness of the Unified Health System (SUS) throughout the country has broadened access to basic health services, significantly transforming people's quality of life in most of the country. In contrast to such advances, we are appalled by attacks on the SUS advocating that it be dismantled! The Brazilian Association of Nursing is a civil entity that gathers nurses from all over the country. Well before the 8 th Brazilian National Health Conference, it was already fighting for the right to health for all. Since then, the association has contributed to the improvement of health care by promoting debates about the training of nursing and health professionals who are committed to the proposal of universal health care and who have the competence to share care with their peers, with equal participation of the population. Throughout the existence of this healthcare model, nursing professionals have effectively participated to consolidate and strengthen it. Therefore, the Brazilian Journal of Nursing cannot help but express its opinion about the collapse that has been happening within the SUS. Health has become an increasingly higher priority for people all over the world. In the same way, universal access to and coverage of health services is also a priority, in order to transform a population's health conditions. However, Brazilians are dissatisfied with the available health services, and for many years, health has been the main problem or complaint reported by the population. The demographic and epidemiological transition taking place in Brazil has raised the issue of how to address the care of patients with chronic diseases and the increasing frailty of ageing individuals. However, there is still a significant presence of infectious and parasitic diseases, in addition to a high incidence of noncommunicable diseases. Further still, we have experienced a significant growth in violence and death due to external causes and drug use. The condition of the Brazilian health system points to great intersectoral challenges and macro health problems within the scope of the Brazilian reality. These must be faced in conjunction and given equal weight, since a more general solution for health depends on and involves the understanding of such relationships. Nursing plays a relevant role in facing up to the great challenges related to the provision of comprehensive, safe, and quality health care to all. Nurses represent the most preponderant professional group in the daily care of millions of Brazilians who depend solely on the SUS, from the reception of patients in all the units of the service network to m...

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