Health: João Pessoa's hospital and medical network

João Pessoa's municipal network has five hospitals and 848 beds, also serving residents from another 206 municipalities.

The City of João Pessoa's own hospital network is made up of five units: the Mangabeira Hospital Complex (a reference for orthopedic trauma emergency and urgent care), the Valentina Figueiredo Municipal Hospital (a pediatric reference), the Santa Isabel Municipal Hospital, the Cândida Vargas Institute and the Prontovida unit. Together, these units total 848 beds, of which 123 are ICU beds and 716 are ward beds, according to data released by the City itself.

Together, these hospitals carry out more than 17,800 visits per month and function as a regional reference: they receive patients not only from João Pessoa but from another 206 municipalities in Paraíba under agreements with the municipal SUS, which increases pressure on the local network, especially in urgent and emergency care. Complementing the municipal network, the state maintains its own hospitals run by PB Saúde, including medium- and high-complexity units geared to specialties such as oncology, cardiology and trauma.

On the private side, João Pessoa has private hospitals and clinics, some affiliated with health insurance plans, concentrated mainly in the neighborhoods of Tambaú, Bessa and Manaíra, expanding options for those with health insurance. No recent, consolidated public data on average wait times or bed occupancy rates in the municipal network could be found in the sources consulted — information that those who depend on the SUS in the city should seek directly from the Municipal Health Department, since the perception of overcrowding in emergency units is a recurring complaint, but without recent official statistics available.