• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 10 / 06 / 2010

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The government has been successful in identifying “irrational spending” in its showcase healthcare system, and cutbacks have begun, Granma reported Tuesday.

Healthcare spending has mushroomed from 121 million non-convertible pesos in 2000 to 2.47 billion pesos in 2009, according to official statistics, while health indicators increased only slightly. The relative share of healthcare spending in the national budget rose from 2 percent to 7 percent in the same period.

“The analysis of healthcare costs … leads inevitably to the imperative of rational and efficient use of the big resources the state provides, to continue satisfying with highest quality the health needs of the population,” an article in the official organ of the Communist Party said.

A process of  ”reorganization, compacting and regionalization” has already begun, the article suggests, and — as part of a process of layoffs for 500,000 state workers — employees are being scanned for aptitude and qualification.

Managers in Havana Province are analyzing the geographic distribution of endoscopy, ultrasound and lab services, according to Granma. Officials are mainly focusing on small clinics and ambulance bases as cutback targets.

In the province, a number of hospitals, polyclinics, maternity homes and ambulance bases are too small to make financial sense, one health official suggested.

Some clinics offer only four or five beds, but have an average payroll of 20 employees. This cannot be justified if that establishment is close to larger facilities, the official suggested. Some ambulance bases have only one car, but a payroll of more than 30 employees. Layoffs have already begun in some of the province’s seven hospitals, and some of the 38 polyclinics will be downgraded to medical practices.

One 75-employee polyclinic in San José de las Lajas, for instance, has been offering  24-hour emergency, laboratory, ultrasound, EKG, stomatology, vaccine, dermatology, rheumatology, urology and rehabilitation services.

On average, only 15 patients per week have been using the polyclinic. The polyclinic is now being pared down to a two-day a week medical practice offering pharmacy, stomatology and lab services. The 24-hour emergency service continues. For other services, patients can use another polyclinic in the same town.

Source: /www.cubastandard.com/2010/10/05/granma-cutbacks-in-healthcare-system-underway/