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.