06.11.2026 13:51
Following complaints that patients were kept waiting for a long time in Brazil, the mayor, who went to the hospital for an unannounced inspection, caught two on-duty doctors, one of them a woman, having sexual intercourse in a closed room. The mayor, who claimed that the doctors had a romantic encounter while patients were waiting in line, reacted harshly to the situation. After the incident, the municipality terminated its contract with the organization operating the hospital.
The incident in Barreiros, a city in Brazil's Pernambuco state, came to light during the mayor's surprise inspection of the hospital. Following complaints that patients had been waiting for hours, Mayor Carlinhos da Pedreira went to the Jailton Messias de Albuquerque Municipal Hospital on the night of November 4 and reacted sharply to healthcare workers over the scene he encountered.
HE FOUND THE DOCTORS IN A ROOM WHILE PATIENTS WAITED
Mayor Pedreira, accompanied by his team, inspected the hospital's emergency department and corridors. After seeing waiting patients, the mayor headed to the area where the doctors were and came to a locked rest room. Pedreira had the door opened and found two doctors inside, one woman and one man.
The mayor accused the doctors of having sexual intercourse while on duty. Those moments were captured on camera by people participating in the inspection.
"THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IS FULL, AND YOU ARE CARRYING ON A ROMANCE HERE"
The mayor, who appeared very angry in the footage, reacted to the doctors and said patients were waiting in the emergency department. Pedreira said, "What you are doing is unacceptable. The emergency department is full, and you are sleeping and carrying on a romance here."
The mayor claimed that three doctors were on duty at the hospital that night, but only one was seeing patients during the inspection. Pedreira, who called for the two doctors to be removed from the hospital, also requested that police be called to the scene.
MUNICIPALITY TERMINATES CONTRACT CONCERNING HOSPITAL
After what happened, the Barreiros Municipality announced that the contract with the organization named Associação Beneficente João Paulo II, responsible for the hospital's management, had been terminated.
The municipal administration announced that it would directly take over the management of the hospital until a new tender process was completed. After the decision, it was stated that maintaining healthcare services without interruption was the priority.
REACTION FROM DOCTORS' PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION
After the incident, the Pernambuco Regional Medical Council (Cremepe) issued a statement on November 5 and reacted to the mayor's accusations against the doctors in public.
The council emphasized that disruptions in hospital services and complaints regarding the duty schedule should be examined, but that such investigations must be conducted through legal and institutional channels.
The professional organization, stating that humiliating doctors in public is unacceptable, reported that possible disciplinary violations should be investigated with the right to defense respected.