The head of the National Health Service (SNS), Dr. Mario Lama, presented on Monday the achievements and progress of the Public Health Network in three years of management, among which he highlighted the strengthening of infrastructure, the provision of equipment and an increase in the provision of services.
From August 2020 to date, new hospitals, general renovations, emergency room expansions, interventions in maternal areas and Intensive Care Units have been delivered to the population in 45 hospitals, 35 delivered by the SNS and 10 by the Ministry of Housing and Buildings (Mived).
Dr. Lama detailed that 532 First Level Care Centers have been refurbished, as well as Clinical and Diagnostic Centers, in order to improve the quality of the services received by the users.
Likewise, the SNS has provided more than 100 health establishments with new equipment with an investment of RD 1,972,321,277.10. In this regard, 12 hospitals nationwide have received new tomographs, which has guaranteed access to diagnostic studies to thousands of patients who will no longer have to travel outside their provinces or purchase the service in private centers.
“In Azua, Sosúa and Higüey we are building three trauma hospitals that will help save lives and guarantee timely access to medical specialties that have never been offered in those regions and in Barahona, the first maternal and child hospital in the south is being built to offer quality care to mothers and their babies,” Lama emphasized.
Increase in laboratory and imaging tests
The SNS, through the Directorate of Clinical Laboratories and Imaging, increased the response capacity in the provision of laboratory and imaging services as evidenced by 23.3 million attentions offered from January to October 2023, the highest historical production in equal periods.
From 2020 to October 2023, the production has been of more than 83.8 million laboratory and imaging tests, carried out thanks to the provision of new equipment and the commissioning of 52 clinical laboratories in the 9 Regional Health Services (SRS).
Newborn care
To strengthen neonatal care, the Neonatal Mortality Reduction Acceleration Plan is being implemented, which has led to an 11% decrease in the mortality rate from January to October 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
In the Nuestra Señora de La Altagracia, Reynaldo Almánzar and San Lorenzo de Los Minas maternity hospitals in Santo Domingo, hypothermia therapies are applied to minimize the possible disabilities of newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE); likewise, the Early Detection of Hearing Deficit Program is implemented in 7 hospitals for the benefit of children born with hypoacusis, and 21,118 newborns have already been screened.
Early Detection of Cancer Program
The achievements include more than 75,000 patients screened through the Breast, Cervical and Prostate Cancer Early Detection Program implemented by the SNS, as part of the Uniting Wills initiative developed by the Office of the First Lady, Raquel Arbaje, with the support of the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa).
Priorities
The executive director of the SNS indicated that in order to continue with the strengthening of the centers of the Public Health Network, it has among its priorities to cover the needs for personnel, infrastructure and equipment in the health facilities of the First Level of Care, to strengthen mental health care, by improving the institutional response capacity at the different levels of care and to continue with the habilitation of maternal intensive care units, among others.
“In these three years we have taken important steps forward to achieve the transformation we want in the Public Health Network, so that every Dominican who needs medical attention receives it in the best conditions in our hospitals; these achievements and advances that we are presenting today support the Government’s promise to guarantee citizens the right to access health services in a timely manner,” said Lama.
Source: Presidencia.gob.do
