Magalhaes Júnior HM. Urgência e emergência - a participação do municipio. [Urgency and emergency - the participation of the municipality.] In: Campos CR, Malta DC, dos Reis AT, Dos Santos AF, Merhy EE. Sistema Único de Salud em Belo Horizonte: Reescrevendo o público. [The Unified Health System in Belo Horizonte : Rewriting the public.] São Paulo ( Brazil ): Xamá Editora; 1998. p. 121-142.

Objectives: To analyze changes brought about by the organization of emergency care in Belo Horizonte during the period 1994-1996.

Methodology: Analytical and descriptive, using secondary data.

Results: The introduction of the Unified Health System in Belo Horizonte revealed the need to transform the system of urgent and emergency care. In Belo Horizonte , the following conditions were evident: poor geographic distribution, little coordination and responsibility shown by the private sector, insufficient financing by the public sector, and lack of participation by municipal officials in the organization of urgent care. These conditions produced a chaotic, disordered system, characterized by low commitment and quality.

The municipal government decided to plan an articulated system, taking into consideration the existing reality, the potential within the infrastructure of the public network, the different political interests at work, and the management possibilities. The author details the steps that were followed to achieve these objectives. A central element of the project was to analyze the problem of traffic accidents (the most important cause triggering emergency care) and to propose initiatives to prevent them.

Conclusions: The project achieved positive results in reorganizing the system of urgent and emergency care, as well as in the expanded role assumed by the municipality in dealing with this issue.