ASSE will establish eight health teams in rural areas of the interior of the country
In this first stage, the 16 professionals will be appointed in towns in the north of the country with less than 1,000 inhabitants.
The board of directors of the State Health Services Administration (ASSE) approved the creation of eight medical and eight nursing positions to work in localities in the deep interior of the country, in areas that require greater health coverage. “Being able to bring doctors and nurses to rural areas will increase the accessibility of users of the public provider,” assured the member of the organization, Marcela Cuadrado.
The measure seeks to strengthen assistance through the formation of basic health teams, explained the leader in dialogue with Presidential Communication. In this first instance, the positions will be created for the departments of Artigas, Salto, Paysandú, Rivera, Flores, Colonia and Cerro Largo, because the majority of professionals live in the south of the country, especially in the cities.
APPEAL TO RURAL ROUNDS TO OPTIMIZE RESOURCES
In this framework, Uruguay has more than 300 communities with less than 1,000 inhabitants and even some rural territories have small towns with just 10 people, said the interviewee. To define the localities to be prioritized, ASSE works on health coverage through “fragmentation by territory”, with a minimum of three communities per area. In these cases, care is provided through rural rounds.
“All of the population’s care needs must be covered, but with a view to optimizing the service, which can have an assistance area of approximately 1,500 people,” he explained.
CALL
The call, open in nature and convened by the Primary Care Network of the corresponding Executing Unit, implies a highly dedicated work regime, aimed at specialists in family and community medicine, or general practitioner with an advanced university graduate degree in the discipline, or with documented experience and training. For nursing, you must have a bachelor’s degree or studies that accredit training as a nursing assistant.
To encourage the establishment of the health team, housing will be provided, so that the selected professionals can settle with their families. To this end, regional directorates, primary care networks of each department, mayors and other organizations such as the National Colonization Institute work together. Each position will be 36 hours, so that it does not imply total dedication, and guarantee free and rest time.
Cuadrado estimates that the call will open in November, with the first appointments expected from the first months of 2026. “We need people to start registering, to change their lifestyle and work from another side,” he insisted.
COORDINATIONS
“This is bringing the health service close to the people,” defined Square. “Then come all the subsequent coordination, such as the transfer of patients who need to be referred to a hospital, or receive care in more focal specialties,” indicated the leader, who explained that in the latter case the option of telemedicine is included, a tool that will be strengthened in these territories.
With this resolution of the board, the provisions of article 287 of Law No. 19,996 of November 3, 2021, which created the Program to strengthen medical care in rural areas, are fulfilled. Once operational, the mechanism will be evaluated and, according to the results, it will be promoted in other places to continue improving the first level of care.
