The Ministry of Public Health says the government is investing more than RD$2.5 billion in the construction and equipping of 50 diagnostics clinics and will increase the number of primary care units (Unap) to 2,000.
Health Minister Freddy Hidalgo said the Unap centers would be equipped and staffed by a doctor and several nurses who will be able to care for 70% of the problems affecting patients.
He said that there are already 1,725 primary care centers in operation and the plan is to increase them to 2,000. He said each Unap has the capacity to care for 500 to 700 families. He said this would reduce workloads in hospital emergency and consulting departments.
He added that the Ministry of Public Health has 2,200 promoters who provide preventive health information in communities.
Speaking on Channel 13’s Revista 110, Hidalgo announced that another 3,000 health promoters are training at Infotep so they can work in the diagnostics centers and the primary care centers.
“President Danilo Medina and the Ministry of Health’s aim is to educate and guide families so that they get sick as infrequently as possible, and if this happens, they visit the Unap in their community before going to a hospital,” he said.
He also said that the government is building 24 hospitals and remodeling 100.
Read more in Spanish: http://elnacional.com.do/dice-salud-invierte-2500-millones-pesos-en-centros-clinicos-de-diagnostico/