Family doctor and nurse program analyzed in Cuba (+Photos)

Ensuring medical coverage in Cuban clinics is a priority today and was the subject analyzed in the National Assembly of People's Power, prior to the IV Ordinary Period of Sessions of this body, in its X Legislature.    

According to the report presented today by Dr. Cristina Luna, in charge of announcing the results of the verification of the improvement of the Family Doctor and Nurse Improvement Program, the provinces of Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, in the west of the country; and Camagüey, Santi Spiritus and Ciego de Avila, are the most affected by the problems detected in the primary health system.

In the Health and Sports Commission of the Cuban parliament, chaired by the Cuban Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal, the attendees also spoke about other deficiencies such as shortage of supplies and resources in the clinics themselves, the poor construction condition of these or the relocation of health professionals, which are often not known by the population.

Among the proposals to improve the situation, the Plan for Improvement of the Family Doctor and Nurse Program, points out actions such as: improving the moral stimulation of health workers, deepening the Evaluation Guide of the polyclinic, in some aspects such as the quality of the interconsultations of basic specialists, emphasizing their teaching character and administrative management in the clinic with the basic health team.

In addition, it is expected to be a priority for the distribution of resources that guarantee the resolution of the clinic and the polyclinic, considering the complex situation with transportation and ambulances, a logistical issue aggravated by the intensification of the economic-financial blockade, imposed by the United States for more than 60 years.

In 1983, the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, conceived the idea of ​​the Family Doctor and Nurse Program, which in 2024 celebrated its 40th Anniversary.

“Today, more than ever, it is necessary to defend family medicine as the basis of the National Health System and it is one of the fundamental challenges that the Ministry of Public Health assumes in the midst of the complex economic and social scenario that we are experiencing,” said Dr. Luna.

Primary Health Care has a total of 451 polyclinics and 11,548 Family Doctor and Nurse Offices (CMF), of which 11,222 are located in the community, 168 in educational centers, 67 in universities and 91 in work centers and other institutions.

Of the total number of offices located in the community, 7,763 (68.9 percent) are urban and 3,507 (31.1 percent) are rural, of which 1,035 belong to the Turquino Plan.

The Fourth Ordinary Period of Sessions of Parliament, in its 10th Legislature, will meet from December 18 to 20, also at the Havana Convention Center.

The ANPP is the supreme organ of power of the Cuban State, and the only one that has constitutional and legislative capacity; in its current legislature it is made up of 470 deputies.