According to statistics from the health sector, the mortality rate in all eight intensive care units in the province dropped to 3.3 percent in 2004.

The said facilities, located in municipalities where there are no hospitals, saved hundreds of lives last year.

The new services opened in late 2003, after an investment that contributed equipment to monitor vital signs, among other means to improve medical care of seriously-ill patients.

Out of more than 1,551 patients admitted in those units, 847 were discharged, 55 died and 652 were transferred to specialized wards at hospitals.

The most common ailments affecting patients are cardiovascular and acute respiratory diseases.

By: Dtcuba