HAVANA, March 26 (Reuters) – A Cuban doctor who has been practicing medicine for more than 25 years, like many Cubans who earn a government salary, needs a side hustle to get by.
To avoid regular power outages, he wakes up at 5 a.m. to cook rice and beans to sell, his bus and taxi costs exceed his monthly salary of 8,000 pesos, or about $16.
sign up over here
Cuba’s health care system, long seen as a major achievement of the 1959 revolution and decades of communist rule, has suffered significant declines for years as a failing economy and punitive U.S. economic sanctions take their toll.
The Cuban Ministry of Public Health said that in this country with a population of 10 million, 96,000 Cubans are on the waiting list for surgery, of which 11,000 are children. It estimates that the waiting list will increase to 160,000 by the end of the year. Every week, more than 300 pediatric operations run short of drugs, oxygen or anesthesia and other supplies. About 32,000 pregnant women may not receive their recommended minimum of three ultrasound examinations.
The doctor, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said the constant pressure of rationing care was weighing on him, reliving memories of the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Public health care has always been promised. Free. A world-class system,” the doctor said. “I don’t know how much longer we can put up with this. There are fewer and fewer doctors, fewer resources for patients, but the patients keep coming.”
Extension of PESOS
While the Cuban economy has its share of setbacks, US sanctions have further weakened the country’s medical corps, affectionately known as the “white coat army.”
Doctors in the state medical system say their colleagues are burning out, leaving the country, or giving up monthly salaries of 7,000 to 8,000 pesos — the equivalent of $14 to $16 under the unofficial exchange rate — to work in small businesses or wait tables or clean houses.
These coins do not extend far. A carton of 30 eggs is 3000 pesos, a liter of cooking oil is 1500, and a kilo of rice is 700.
Reuters interviewed two other doctors who declined to be identified but told similar stories of frustration. Additionally, while on officially sanctioned visits with government officials nearby, Reuters conducted interviews with three other doctors, four nurses and a senior health ministry official. These interviews also highlighted problems for the profession, albeit in less dire terms.
Doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity said basic supplies are in short supply, forcing workers to bring cleaning supplies from home or to mop floors with water alone. Disposable gloves, previously cleaned and reused several times, are completely gone. In the absence of urine bags, doctors resorted to water or Coca-Cola bottles, a doctor said.
This coincides with an increase in the incidence of hepatitis and diarrhea, the two doctors said.
Reuters was unable to confirm any link, but a senior health ministry official said the increase in infections was due to a shortage of antibiotics.
Fuel shortages and power outages prevent the flow of drinking water when pumps are out and close some primary care clinics.
“They’re not officially closed. They can’t say it publicly. But they’re not doing consultations because there’s no water,” said a second doctor.
When the power went out, and before the generators came down, nurses in the hospital’s neonatal unit ran to hand-pump ventilators for the babies, a nurse told DropSite News.
Cancer treatment
Cuban health officials acknowledge that their system is under pressure, but insist that their doctors are determined to continue.
“The White House army will not defeat the Cuban people, despite what we are facing today,” Deputy Health Minister Tania Margarita Cruz told a news conference last week.
However, she said, the energy crisis has led to a shortage of patient visits, hospital admissions and basic supplies.
Cruz said Cuba is treating 117,000 cancer patients, of which 16,000 need radiation therapy and 12,000 need chemotherapy, while 400 need surgery.
“How difficult it is for a Cuban family to have cancer, especially a child with cancer,” Cruz said. “We don’t have the necessary drugs for the global protocol that has always been implemented in this country.”
Cruz would not give a death toll on the impact of U.S. sanctions, and neither would other health officials.
But she acknowledged the “average and overall survival rate of Cuban patients and Cuban children” with cancer. Cruz also noted that a shortage of antibiotics could “lead to the death of the patient.”
‘I have seen doctors cry’
Asked about the doctor’s firing, Cruz pointed to a recent pay increase and said the ministry had created a program to boost morale by improving working conditions, professional opportunities and research.
Last year, the government raised the night wage to 100 pesos an hour, or a total of $2.40 for a 12-hour shift. Bonuses for high performance in certain specialties amount to 20 pesos, or 4 cents per hour.
Despite the official message of optimism, doctors on the front lines are questioning how much longer they can endure.
All three doctors who spoke to Reuters by name were longtime government loyalists who said their patience was wearing thin.
“We’re all afraid to speak up,” said one doctor, adding that raising objections could ruin careers.
“I have doctors crying,” she said. “With this crisis, they are crying.” They stopped working, they were upset. You can see it in their faces.”
Reporting by Daniel Trutta in Havana Editing by Bill Beerkroot
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
#Cuban #doctors #facing #burnouts #blackouts #oncedecreasing #health #care #system