Standing and improving Healthcare
By 1970, the number of Rural hospitals had risen to 53. Provincial medical and nursing schools were established to decentralized training and encourage professionals to practice where they grew up. Tuition was free, academic achievement being the sole requisite for admission. By the mid-1970s, health services were available across the country and indicators improved significantly. A new model of community-based polyclinics was established in 1974 to deliver comprehensive care to Residents in their neighborhoods. Polyclinics gave Cuban communities local access to Primary Care Specialists such as Obstetricians gynecologists pediatricians internists and dental services. Training and policy emphasize the impact of biological, social, cultural, Economic and environmental factors on patients. National programs focused on maternal and child health, infectious diseases, chronic non-communicable diseases and older adult health. In 1976 a new ministry of Public Health was established, and a new Cuban Constitution approved.
Article 50 stated: everybody has the right to health and protection and care. The state guarantees this right: by providing free medical and hospital care, by means of the installations of the rural medical service network, polyclinics, hospitals and preventative and specialized treatment centers; by providing free dental care; by promoting the public health campaigns, help education, regular medical examinations, General vaccinations and other measures to prevent the outbreak of disease. All the population cooperates in these activities and plans through social and Mass organizations.
By the 1980s, Cuba had the health profile of a highly developed country, having eliminated most infectious diseases and poverty related diseases, so that ailments such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease became priorities, on par with the developed capitalist world. These conditions are expensive to treat.