Cuban president tours communities in Cienfuegos city.   Photo: Prensa Latina

Mexico City, July 25 (RHC)-- The 500 Cuban doctors hired by Mexico will work in 15 states integrated into the new health plan run by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and Bienestar, reported La Jornada.

The newspaper reports that after Nayarit, where there are already 60  Cuban health collaborators, other groups will go to Colima and Tlaxcala, as revealed by Jorge Alcocer, Secretary of Health.

The brigade of professionals received training on internal regulations and on the institutions they will support. They explained that they will seek to promote and assist in the health care of Mexicans.

In addition, said the official, there is still the possibility of hiring specialists from other countries. He pointed out that the objective is to have the necessary number of health professionals to comply with international recommendations.

Estimates are also being made on the time required for the training of human resources in Mexico, based on the increase in the number of medical residency positions, which this year reached 20,000. This figure doubles the number of spaces available at the beginning of the current adm inistration.

Another indicator in the coverage of high-specialty services in the country that the Secretary mentioned is the experience that will be acquired with the plan to transform the healthcare system.

Initially, the federal government proposed that 500 doctors from the Caribbean nation would be hired to increase the capacity of medical units.

For the time being, in Nayarit, which has 66 percent coverage of its specialist needs, the 60 newly arrived Cuban doctors will be distributed among the 11 hospitals that operate under the plan of IMSS-Bienestar.

There are also three Specialty Medical Units and 245 first level clinics in the state, which received an investment of 54 million pesos (2.7 million dollars), according to official information.

Part of these resources were destined to the rehabilitation of 11 operating rooms in hospitals run by the state health services, which had been out of operation for between one and 14 years.

With the new scheme put in place this year, the shared responsibility between the Federation and the entities is over, the official pointed out.