Complaints And Confusion In Digital Forum On Restricting Doctors’ Travel

Complaints And Confusion In Digital Forum On Restricting Doctors' Travel
/ 14ymedio
Posted on December 2, 2015

14ymedio, Havana, 2 December 2015 – "Will retired doctors be subject to
the special travel regulations?" This question, asked by a commentator
named Rita, led off the online forum managed by the Ministry of Public
Health (MINSAP) on the digital site Cubadebate. Dozens of internauts
swamped this site from 10 in the morning looking for information about
one of the most unpopular measures of recent months. The rules announced
this Tuesday established that, starting from next Monday, Cuban medical
specialists will need authorization to travel for private purposes.

The Public Health Ministry responded at several opportunities that it is
"not prohibiting [healthcare professionals] from leaving the country on
personal trips or living abroad, but that, "it is trying to organize the
services to guarantee quality healthcare to the population." The agency
asked for "trust, as always, in those who do what is best for everyone."
It also clarified that "this measure only includes medical specialists
and final year residents in those specialties that are not specialist in
comprehensive general medicine."

Also a focus of attention of several commentators was improving salaries
for medical personnel as a measure that could help much more than
restricting travel. "They should make adjustments in the financial
remuneration of the principal actors who make this contribution to the
economy," noted Oro22, speaking of the considerable resources received
by the nation every year through the concept of medical missions abroad.

Several of the participants delved into their personal situation and
their fear of having to cancel and already planned trip in the coming
weeks because of not being able to obtain the permission to leave in time.

One of the most frequent questions was whether "doctors residing in Cuba
who are currently working under independent contracts abroad, would have
to ask permission to leave if they were to enter the country." This
reflects the growing number of healthcare professionals who are
undertaking independent contracts and countries such as Ecuador, South
Africa, and other nations in Africa and the Caribbean area.

"All of the doctors who left the country before this new measure do not
have to ask for any kind of authorization to return," MINSAP authorities
stressed, because "they are no longer active doctors in the system so
they can enter and leave without any document."

Complaints were also directed at the quality of the forum, given that
one hour after its start there were more than 100 questions and barely 3
answers, one of them repeated. One internaut criticized the schedule of
the forum and asked "Who had the idea of having an online forum at a
time when all of the healthcare personnel interested in the subject are
busy delivering the health services so necessary to the population?"

The implementation of the new measure was questioned bluntly by many of
the forum participants, as was the case with Mexico2 who inquired, "To
whom can we appeal a decision that we don't agree with? Can we go above
the Minister of Health? Can we take it to the Supreme Court?"

The fear of doctors living in other countries was also presented through
doubts such as, "what guarantee does a medical specialist or a doctor of
sciences who is abroad for personal reasons have that if they travel to
Cuba they will be able to leave when they want to without depending on a
decision made by others?" The same commentator, with the nickname
Doctor, responded, "If there are no guarantees there will be many who
would prefer to lose their Cuban citizenship, rather than face of the
possibility of being detained [in Cuba]."

The authorities detailed, "The procedure establishes as a part of the
request to the director of his agency, [the doctor must] give the reason
for his departure (a temporary journey or to live abroad)." Once this
first step is taken, "the director considers the guarantee of continuity
of medical care to the people and how the service is organized so it
will not be affected by his departure." Then the "appropriate analysis"
will be done and the interested party "will receive a timely response
within 50 days."

Dr. Lazaro Hernandez Coteron expressed his dissatisfaction with the
regulation questioning, "Doesn't this measure limit my rights as a
citizen because of my profession?" Sarcastically, another commenter,
under the nick Ramanoco, felt that the new process of liberation that a
medical specialists must pass to leave the country "in colonial times
was called a freedom letter," in reference to slavery.

Source: Complaints And Confusion In Digital Forum On Restricting
Doctors' Travel / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/complaints-and-confusion-in-digital-forum-on-restricting-doctors-travel-14ymedio/