Health clinic · Health and the SUS
UBS: the neighborhood clinic
The front door to the SUS, close to home.
What it is
UBS stands for Unidade Básica de Saúde, the neighborhood health clinic. It is the front door to the SUS: doctor visits, prenatal care, wound dressing, vaccines and follow-up for high blood pressure and diabetes.
How to use it
Go to the clinic closest to your home with an ID. There you are registered with a Family Health team: a doctor, a nurse and a community health worker who visits people's homes.
The numbers
Brazil has about 45,000 clinics and 61,000 Family Health teams, which look after 180 million people.
The criticism
Critics point to a shortage of doctors and long waits for appointments at many clinics. Supporters respond that the problem is too few teams for too many people, and that the clinic keeps simple cases from turning into hospital stays.