Management of civil legal services at the public defender's office of Colinas do Tocantins: an analysis of the effectiveness of access to justice in public health claims

Abstract

This article analyzes the management of civil legal services at the 1st Civil Public Defender's Office of Colinas do Tocantins, focusing on the effectiveness of access to justice in cases related to the fundamental right to health. Starting from the premise that the organization of internal work processes directly influences the quality and speed of legal protection provided to the underprivileged population, the study seeks to understand how the institutional structure of the unit conditions the handling of public health demands in the period from 2024 to 2025. The research adopts a qualitative approach, with a descriptive-analytical character, combining bibliographic review, document analysis, and participant observation. The institutional data analyzed reveal a total of 506 cases registered in categories directly related to health, in addition to 140 cases classified as obligations to act with an interface with the health area, totaling a significant volume of demands that highlights the centrality of the institution in guaranteeing the constitutional right to health for the local population. The analysis indicates that, although the Public Defender's Office of Colinas do Tocantins plays a fundamental role in the judicialization of public health demands, bottlenecks in triage processes, in the management of service flow, and in the systematization of data compromise full institutional effectiveness. The article proposes strategies for improving procedural management aimed at expanding access to justice and providing faster protection of the fundamental rights of the assisted population.