this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2024

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148

‘Giving us oxygen’: Italy turns to Cuba to help revive ailing health system (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 8 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/world@lemmy.world

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[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 47 points 8 months ago (2 children)

For those wondering why Italy's health system is in need of help, the article says...

The coronavirus pandemic was the catalyst for many to leave; more than 11,000 health workers have left the public system since 2021. Italian medics were frontline heroes when the country became the first in Europe to be engulfed by Covid-19. However, the fines issued to some for flouting overtime rules during the pandemic were a reflection of how quickly their efforts were forgotten.

Stressed medical professionals are now either retiring early, switching to the private sector, or seeking better opportunities abroad.

In Italy’s poorer south, the public health system had endured neglect for years before the pandemic, with severe cost-cutting leading to the closure of dozens of hospitals. The mafia and political corruption have also taken their toll on services.

[–] DieguiTux8623@feddit.it 31 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

With the ridiculous salaries they will be offered and the poor shift organization they will find, even foreign doctors will last very little. Unless they are forced to sign long term "slavery style" contracts with penalties if they resign earlier.

Italy is turning to private healthcare, there's no way back. And the US demonstrate to the world that this is a winning model... right? right? oh sh*t...

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 8 points 8 months ago

I hope they offer our suicide pills in grape here in the States. I'd hate to bankrupt myself over end-of-life care only to get cherry.

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

With the ridiculous salaries they will be offered and the poor shift organization they will find, even foreign doctors will last very little. Unless they are forced to sign long term “slavery style” contracts with penalties if they resign earlier.

Oh, and Cuba is horrifically poor, so even Italian health care wages probably feel like a good deal to them.

[–] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works -1 points 8 months ago

Actually this isn't true, I went there once and the resort had 3 stars.

[–] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Portugal has basically the same issue fun fact

[–] DieguiTux8623@feddit.it 4 points 8 months ago

We're family: Catholic, Latinos, good food, sun and beach ⛱️ who cares for the healthcare system, one day we will all be dead anyway!

[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 29 points 8 months ago

We've had the same issue in France. During the pandemic health professionals were hailed as heroes, deservedly so. But once it was over, they started asking for better conditions, and more money towards public health infrastructure. They got shut down and belittled pretty quickly.

[–] maness300@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Why would they turn to a communist country to help them with healthcare?

I thought communism 'didn't work'.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 35 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Turns out that a single payer, socialised, universal healthcare system is the cheapest and most efficient path to quality healthcare.

All it took was most of the world proving that for decades, yet still a significant portion of the human population are dumb enough to believe a privatised profit model could improve things.

[–] Chriswild@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

For the immensely wealthy it's at least self serving. It's the poor people who parrot that shit who I worry about.

[–] detalferous@lemm.ee 0 points 8 months ago

Are they just hiring Cuban physicians for pennies?

Communism is incredibly helpful if you are a capitalist and want to pay slave wages to its refugees.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Communism also got to space first and got a person up there first. Communism had the biggest armed forces in the world, the most nukes (which are expensive to maintain and not use, so communism was bleeding money but didn't care as it was beating the duck out of capitalism). Communism had many problems but folks also forget that communism is capable of great things and can do things easily, such as providing their own people, with ease.

It's the dumb ass central planners that fuck up shit. Get rid of the choke points Putin place by Russia style authoritarian communism and shit turns ugly. People need to see what worked and didn't work in communism to better understand how it will improve their lives and at what cost.

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean, Cuba is a mess at the moment. I don't know that this proves anything other than that Italy's pivot to private healthcare and defunding public health services is fucking disastrous.

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Cuba was ~~destabilized~~ economically destabilized by the US tbf

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Cuba has never been successfully destabilized by the US, though we've certainly tried. The US embargo has done some economic damage, but that's different from destabilization. However, the largest part of Cuba's economic problems have been due to Cuba's own economic policies.

[–] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Economic policies such as?

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 1 points 7 months ago

Have you never looked into Cuba's system of central planning? It's positively archaic.

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 months ago

Fair point

[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee -2 points 8 months ago

It's not a communist country

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 8 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The 38-year-old surgeon is among the hundreds of health workers from the Caribbean island brought in to fill a drastic shortage of doctors across Calabria, one of the poorest regions in western Europe.

Spurred by government proposals to reduce pensions, the 24-hour strikes reignited the debate over gruelling shift patterns and poor pay amid an exodus of staff.

In Italy’s poorer south, the public health system had endured neglect for years before the pandemic, with severe cost-cutting leading to the closure of dozens of hospitals.

To remedy the problem, Calabria’s regional government called on Cuba, famous worldwide for dispatching medical brigades to assist with saving lives, most often during times of humanitarian calamity.

The pandemic paved the way for the first missions to otherwise prosperous European countries – specifically to Bergamo, the northern Italian province that experienced one of the deadliest outbreaks of Covid-19, and Andorra.

The Guardian visited Polistena after a holiday weekend during which the hospital, a building in desperate need of modernisation, was busy dealing with emergency operations after an increase in road accidents.

The original article contains 1,009 words, the summary contains 177 words. Saved 82%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee -1 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I'm more shocked Cuba is doing better

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 31 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Cuba actually has an excellent force of doctors it regularly deploys overseas for reputation and profit.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's amazing to hear. Really makes Cuba seem not as bad as the media makes it out to be.

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It is, unfortunately, quite bad. Both in material conditions and in terms of political freedoms.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So the only thing it's got going for it is good doctors then

[–] PugJesus@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

Nice cigars too, I hear.

More seriously, it is a very sad situation.

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 9 points 8 months ago

Cuba spends a lot of money on doctor training. It may not include a lot of experience in expensive treatments, but the training is on par with most developed countries and most countries will offer reciprocity on education and licensure to Cuban doctors.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the American Medical Association is against dropping the Cuban embargo as the country would be the best place for medical tourism in the world.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

I'm not. Cuba has an amazing healthcare force lol