Security concerns have led to a shortage of doctors in the public healthcare system in Chihuahua and Tamaulipas.

National healthcare workers’ union (SNTSS) leader Arturo Olivares Cerda said IMSS hospitals in the two states have seen nearly as many positions remain vacant as they were able to fill.

In Chihuahua, hospitals hired a total of 185 doctors but 136 positions remained unfilled, and in Tamaulipas hospitals hired 158 doctors while 136 positions remained vacant.

Available positions come with a monthly salary of 28,000 pesos (US $1,465), considered to be a good salary in the sector, along with bonuses and government assistance with mortgages. Most of the doctors’ positions were also available in central urban areas of the two states, and not in rural areas.

Oliveras said that even though Guerrero and Veracruz both have higher levels of violence than Tamaulipas and Chihuahua, both were better able to fill positions than their northern counterparts, which the union leader attributed to their proximity to the center of the nation.

The IMSS hired 5,080 doctors nationwide in the second week of March. The states that saw the most hires were Mexico City with 957 new doctors, México state with 561, Jalisco with 365, Nuevo León with 258 and Veracruz with 247.

To resolve the shortage in Chihuahua and Tamaulipas, Oliveras said, state authorities, the IMSS and the SNTSS are working together to guarantee better security and labor conditions for prospective employees.

Source: Reforma (sp)