Mexican Healthcare: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly II

Karel Fucikovsky, BU Medical, Care Director, Pierre Fabre Farma

For many years now, we have had and heard important discussions?regarding our healthcare system, if it is sufficiently staffed or not, if the number of total physicians and specialists are in tune to cover our nation’s healthcare needs and requirements.?

My rapid answer is yes. Every year, Mexico’s, renowned and prestigious medical schools and faculties, hospitals (public and private)?and science centers are graduating top and best-in-class physician’s and scientists, a large number of whom, unfortunately,?have not had the opportunity to find full employment within our public health system due to many reasons, one of which?is the shortage of new base positions within the different healthcare institutions.??

It is true that the pandemic brought a very strong disruptive momentum to our country, as it did to the world, and our public and private health systems were not an exception to this. In fact, they became the main actors on the frontlines of the health emergency.??

The system was not?ready for a challenge of such size and dimensions that heavily impacted Mexico, despite having the possibility to learn from what was happening on the other side of the world, where the pandemic had started at least four to five months before it arrived in Mexico.

We all heard, read and watched on the news and other sources that our medical corps was completely overwhelmed and even that there were calls to retired physicians to return and join the battle. Our medical community and all the supporting staff experienced long days, endless extra hours, fatigue, stress, and also, needless to say, huge risks of getting infected during work, as happened.?

According to numerous sources, not just a few but a large number of our healthcare providers, our?“heroes,” got infected and died during this critical period, not only because our system did not provide the sufficient measures for protection and facilities to work in a secure environment but also because physicians were completely outnumbered by the escalating process of contamination and patient inflow. At this stage, we were also in the process of learning how to deal with the virus and apply measures for safety in hospitals and, overall, across?our entire social and economical environment.?

The Good

Now that the pandemic is offering us some relief, our health authorities have launched several invitations to physicians to join the public health forces and fill the different vacant and new positions opening nationwide, either for GPs (general practitioners), specialists and for student residents seeking an opportunity to continue developing?their career. According to public information, our government has opened about 10,495 new positions across our national territory, even in remote areas where access to health has always been considered a humongous challenge.?This, in fact, is great news to us all. It is clear the country needs more active and well-compensated healthcare providers.

The Bad

From these 10,495 new positions, only a very small number has been filled by our acting?Mexican doctors (561).?Certainly, this number has grown by now, but it still remains well under expectations.?

The question is why is it so low if it is true that Mexico produces sufficient and very well-trained doctors every year??There are likely many answers but surely it has to do with working conditions and wages.

On the other hand, this?situation helps build a very strong political argument among the supporters of our government: If Mexican doctors apparently do not want to cover these positions, there are other doctors in?the world who are willing to do so, such as those from Cuba.

Taking advantage of our historical bilateral and strong relationship with the government of Cuba?and its medical services,?Mexico invited approximately 641 Cuban specialists to fill some of the positions that supposedly our Mexican doctors?do not want. Cuban doctors will be allocated where our own locals do not want to go. This is the foundation for the speeches that will influence?the perceptions among some segments of our society. After all, the low response and numbers do not offer a strong argument to challenge it.?

The Ugly

Our Mexican doctors find themselves, in my view, between propaganda and reality. The main reasons why our doctors do not want to go cover the healthcare needs in remote areas due to three factors:?lack of safety. low compensation and insufficient medical infrastructure and?unpredictable and scattered availability of medical supplies, especially medicines.

What is the sense in taking a job where your life could be at risk due to the expanding and escalating security issues we face nationwide. Full safety is not granted by any form of government. By no means are the salary and compensation sufficiently robust and worth taking these?risks.

As long as we as a society,?along with our health authorities, fail to?comply?with these three fundamental elements, we will continue to have these discussions where nobody takes full accountability.??

All external help is most welcomed in?Mexico’s health arena, of course, but first we should, as a country and society, look inside to find the leverage to truly recognize and reward our medial corps, facilitating their entry into the systems and dignifying their work, which,?in the end, affects us all.