São Luís hospitals face protests over pediatric ICU deaths and security staff wages

Parents and relatives of children who died in the pediatric intensive care unit at Hospital da Criança Dr. Odorico Amaral de Matos staged a new protest on 3 May in São Luís, demanding explanations for the rise in deaths – 56 in the first half of 2026 versus 39 in the same period of 2025 – accountability for those responsible, and measures to improve safety. The demonstrations follow investigations by the Maranhão Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the State Public Defender, the Civil Police, the Ministry of Health and the State Court of Auditors, which ordered a special audit of the unit’s management and an emergency contingency plan.

At the same time, security guards employed by a private firm at the Hospital Municipal Veterinário in São Luís halted work on 3 May, protesting two‑month delays in salaries and three‑month delays in meal‑allowances. The Sindicato dos Vigilantes do Maranhão, led by Daniel Pavão, says the unpaid wages threaten the workers’ livelihood and accuses the employer of pressuring staff not to join the strike. The municipal health secretariat claims the city has no outstanding debt to the hospital and is awaiting fund transfers to settle the payroll.

Both protests highlight growing tensions over health‑service management and labor conditions in São Luís.