Angeles Cruz Martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, July 26, 2022, p. 10
The covid-19 pandemic accelerated strategies for Mexico to improve its health-oriented infrastructure, particularly in the basic equipment of hospitals (delivery care, surgeries, X-rays and ultrasound), as well as in the use of digital tools. for services such as telemedicine. Also, in recent years, the availability of state-of-the-art technology with robotic surgery has increased, warns an analysis by the consulting firm Global Health Intelligence.
Mariana Romero, director of the company’s Intelligence Service, stressed that the contingency made health system officials see the importance of being prepared to deal with eventualities such as the coronavirus, which will continue to occur in the future.
He added that the infrastructure of clinics and hospitals is sufficient in relation to the number of inhabitants, but as is known and recognized by the authorities, there is a shortage of medical personnel.
Regarding the equipment of the 3 thousand 655 hospitals in the country, with more than 150 thousand beds, the analysis of the consultant indicates that there is a high penetration
of radiant heat cribs, incubators and cribs for newborns. There are also enough anesthesia machines, sterilization machines, surgery tables and surgical generators.
For patient care, he identified that in these places they have sufficient monitoring systems and ventilators, acquired above all to deal with covid-19. Similarly, the country’s hospital services have X-ray, ultrasound and mammography equipment.
Instead, there are shortcomings at the level of specialties; among others, it mentions that in magnetic resonance equipment coverage is 7 percent, in angiographers 5 percentage points and in linear accelerators for cancer treatments it is 2 percent.
He warns that although there has been an increase in robotic surgery teams, which are already used in 27 different hospitals, the national coverage is barely one percent.
