Opportunities for Mexican Doctors/Clandestine Clinics Pose a Risk

Available doctor employment vacancies announced. Zoe Robledo, Director of the Social Security Institute (IMSS)reported that today there are over 13,765 available employment posts. Robledo highlighted that these new positions will be mainly for internists, emergency physicians, gynecologists, obstetricians, pediatricians and anesthesiologists. “Resources have been assigned to these new employment positions, so salaries will not be an issue. There are still many vacancies throughout the country, 5,252 that correspond to the health systems of the 15 states where the health-wellness transformation plan is being executed this year.”

Last week, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the hiring of Cuban doctors to work in Mexico´s rural areas, saying the country has a shortage of general practitioners. Nevertheless, doctors and medical associations argue that there are plenty of doctors available, but many are competing for scarce jobs in the medical field. Consequently, the president announced that new vacancies would soon be opened and stressed that Cuban doctors will not be considered. The states where open vacancies are to be found are: Baja California Sur, Campeche, Mexico City, Colima, Durango, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Zacatecas.

Clandestine clinics are a major threat to the population: COFEPRIS. The Director of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) Alejandro Svarch stressed that clandestine surgical clinics or clinics that do not have permits are liable to put the health of Mexicans at great risk. “We have identified one of the worst threats to the health of our population: clandestine surgical clinics that do not have any type of technical guarantees. Moreover, miracle products, designated by the Ministry of Health as deceptive products, are highly dangerous. Please do not use them."

The Ministry of Health announced there has been an increase in cases of misuse of biopolymers and synthetic polymers used by plastic surgeons to give volume and shape the body. The Ministry explained that the main reason for its misuse is that clandestine clinics use obsolete equipment or lack experience. In recent months, 316 operations have been carried out in the Safe Clinic Operation program, in which 78 establishments have been closed.

Improving the health system is our priority: AMLO. López Obrador announced that for the rest of his government he will seek to improve the national health system and guarantee free and high-quality medical care to all Mexicans, but especially to those who do not have social security. “It is very important to take on this enormous challenge to guarantee the right to health. We are going to focus in the rest of my government and establish a good comprehensive health system. Most of all, we want to make sure it is free.”

Currently, the IMSS is carrying out diagnoses in 15 states to create a new plan to improve the national health system. The goal of the new health plan is to have 347 hospitals and 7,033 first-level units fully operational and 46,043 health personnel working. Robledo stressed that the main problem in the health system is the lack of personnel, since around 33,020 health workers are needed throughout the country.  The states that are being included in the diagnosis are Baja California Sur, Campeche, Colima, Mexico City, Durango, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Sonora, Sinaloa, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi.