The absence of a health service has been determining an increasing demand over the tertiary system. The emergency services are overloaded, human and material resources are unnecessarily mobilized, prevention action is devaluated and the population's problems are only partially solved in this situation. This problem is reflected in the search of Hospital de Clínicas' emergency unit whose assistence level to child health problems is measured in this research. For that, an interview and an instrument are utilized in order to obtain data about child health problems and the motives for searching the service. It is verified that the most part of attendances could be resolved at the 1st assistance level. Finally, health politics and nurses' role are analysed facing this context.