Before the representatives of the Nation, the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, presented his plan ” ambitious aimed at reforming the health system.
Our health system has had several shortcomings for decades. Despite the succession of governments and visions, no plan has been able to deeply reform the system due to several factors that most know (lack of infrastructure, lack of human resources, lack of financial motivation …) and at their head, lack of will.
This Monday during the plenary session of oral questions, the head of government spoke of a plan ” ambitious which aims to increase the number of students in medical professions in order to make up for the lack of human resources in the health sector.
Thus, Akhannouch’s plan provides for an increase in the number of educational centers intended for students of the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry, as well as the extension of the frameworks for practical training so that they include regional health structures. . A plan that will be activated from the 2022/23 academic year, promised the Chief Executive.
If this plan is presented as being ” ambitious“, this is not the case for medical students who are currently in a university system” defaulting despite the many promises made by former governments.
Construction of faculties YES, and the CHUs?
Mohamed Kassimi Alaoui, coordinator of the National Commission for Medical Students in Morocco (CNEM) told MoroccoLatestNews UK that medical students have been following this subject very closely since the publication of the New Development Model, the objective of which is to reach, by 2035, an average of 45 medical staff per 10,000 inhabitants, whereas the objective set by the WHO is 23 medical officers per 10,000 inhabitants.
” Our Morocco needs many more doctors. It’s a reality. That said, today we have the same fears expressed vis-à-vis the integration of Moroccan students from Ukraine which arise once again vis-à-vis the increase in educational seats“Mohammed tells us.
Recently, the CNEM contacted the network of deans of public medical faculties and the Ministry of Higher Education to present its thoughts on the difficulty, or even the impossibility, of increasing educational seats, without accompanying measures, in particular the increase in internship sites, namely the CHU (University Hospital Centre).
” They say they want to increase the number of doctors. How ? By increasing the number of faculties. They therefore foresee the construction of 3 public faculties and 3 private faculties in Morocco for the next year. Something that is not that complicated since it is about buildings and walls. But what about the internship sites that will have to accompany the creation of these faculties and where the students are trained, in particular the specialists? We have the example of Agadir and Tangier where for 7 years, a whole promotion has never set foot in a CHU“, notes the CNEM coordinator.
The second point put forward by our interlocutor, and which has several shortcomings according to him, concerns the reduction of the duration of training in general medicine from 7 to 6 years, recorded in March 2022, to give a bonus year for the injection of two promotions in the health system.
” Our first concern concerns these laureates. One wonders what will happen to budget items or specialty items, since most want to specialize and not stay in general medicine. This means that the current university hospitals cannot accommodate the correct number of students wishing to specialize. In return, these future doctors, they are granted a bonus year, but they are condemned to remain + generalists + or to leave the country to do their specialty abroad. We will therefore never be able to achieve the desired objectives that will move the sector forward.“, believes Mohamed.
Governance issue
Still with regard to the increase in educational seats, our interlocutor argues that the CNEM was for 100%. But on condition that there is concrete and serious support by creating training sites (CHU, CHP (provincial hospital centre), CHR (regional hospital centre)) or by devoting a budget to the redevelopment of current structures so that they are able to receive students and residents for their specialty.
Afterwards, the CNEM coordinator raises an important point. According to him, ” we cannot be satisfied with building faculties and university hospitals without increasing the number of professors and health managers“.
” We were promised to increase the number of managers and professors, but in accordance with the possible ratio and standards. But we have several questions in this sense, since in 2019, we had promises that were never kept. Today, the same promises are made, namely to increase the number of professors and budget posts in higher education and also civil servants. But the problem that arises, and that we are constantly reminded of, is governance“, underlines our interlocutor.
Indeed, Mohamed Kacimi argues that it is not enough just to recruit teachers, but mechanisms must be put in place to keep them in public education since they are not valued and their salary is not sufficient. .
Similarly, our interlocutor specifies that there is no mechanism that controls their performance, their availability at the level of the CHUs since they have the right to go and work in the private sector,” hence the need to make a legislative and budgetary effort to move things forward “, he says.
” We cannot announce the increase in the number of educational seats and the number of staff without settling all the aforementioned points. But if the government puts in place mechanisms to resolve these points, we will be the first to lend a hand since this is our country“, concludes the CNEM coordinator.
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