In less than a week, the 192 telephone number of the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu) was out of order on three occasions. The most recent was on the afternoon of this Wednesday (31). The problem lasted for more than two hours. The other two occurred on the afternoon of last Thursday (25) and on Friday night (26).
Due to these interruptions, the Government of Rio de Janeiro reported that it will notify the telephone operator Oi, which it points out as responsible for “serious technical failures” that impacted an “essential health service”.
The State Department of Health said it expects the operator to provide a definitive solution for the successive interruptions.
The operator Oi informed, in a note, that the operation of the 192 telephone number was impacted by the rupture of optical fiber in an act of “vandalism”.
SAMU handles urgent and emergency cases and is funded by the federal, state and municipal governments, with the aim of improving care for the population. The service is free and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be called by calling 192.
SAMU was created in 2003 and is part of the National Emergency Policy. It serves the population in their homes, workplaces and public roads. The service teams are made up of emergency drivers, nursing technicians, nurses and doctors trained in emergency care of traumatic, clinical, surgical, pediatric, gynecological-obstetric and psychiatric nature.
