Analysis of the SUS Bahia Ombudsman Office’s experience

Abstract

The article reports the experience of the SUS/Bahia Ombudsman office from its implementation until mid-2021 through the analysis of the developed work. It also describes the role played by the Ombudsman in the struggle to guarantee the right to health, demonstrating its advances and challenges in the State of Bahia, as an ombudsman of the Unified Health System. It is structured in three phases, which intend to describe its performance in a clear and objective way. Its specificity is highlighted as a public health agency supported by the SUS legislation, envisioning decentralization throughout the State of Bahia, with the objective of expanding citizen participation and, consequently, access to their right to healthcare. The first phase discusses the implementation and formation of the SUS Bahia Ombudsman Offices Network and its articulation with the State General Ombudsman’s Office. The second focuses on structuring the service and expanding the Network. The third describes the qualification of SUS ombudsmen with emphasis on the service decentralization through the implementation in the Municipal Health Secretariats in the State of Bahia.