Madrid, Spain.- Cuban Dr. Roselin Moreno He denounced publicly The abandonment suffered by hemodialysis patients of the Celia Sánchez Manduley hospital in Manzanillo, Granma province, due to the lack of essential supplies and the inaction of the health authorities of the territory.
“Today, they did not treatment patients due to lack of bicarbonate, when everyone knows what it means to stop treatmenting when it comes weekend and until Tuesday they don’t have more,” the doctor wrote in a publication on her Facebook profile, visibly outraged.
As detailed, the situation has become unsustainable, with frequent interruptions of the treatment due to water, concentrates, diadators and cleaning assistants, which causes delays or cancellations that directly affect the lives of renal patients.
“For those who do not know, these patients suffer from several complications over the years. They make cardiovascular complications, acute edema of the lung because most do not urinate and cannot ingest liquids, chills, fever, lower pressure or go up, hypoglycemia, bleed through fistulas, take infections by catheter, hepatitis …”, warned Moreno.
“What is missing is human sensitivity. It is a lack of respect for those patients and their families. We are tired of calling the leaders of Manzanillo and do not solve the problem, nor does it solve health, nor the party, nor the government, nor commended,” he added, before calling a meeting with the first secretary of the party in Granma and responsible for the nephrology program. “Not to hear justifications, because I think that the greatest blockade is the one we have internally with the lack of organization,” he concluded.
“There is no solution”: Citizen outrage
Moreno’s complaint, mother of an affected patient, unleashed a wave of support and indignation comments. Several Cubans pointed out that “justifications have already disgusted, everything goes to the blockade”, while others criticized that in recent assemblies “there is no talk of these issues”, although they are issues of life or death.
“Missing sensitivity, humanity, empathy and respect for patients and their families. It is sad to see how the world advances by leaps and bounds and that country is still in the primitive community. The guilty are many, it is a chain of irresponsible, but above all a failed government,” wrote another user.
The doctor’s criticism adds to other voices that in recent years have denounced the deterioration of the Cuban health system, marked by the shortage of basic medicines, medical equipment, and minimum care conditions. Last July, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, acknowledged that only 30 % of the basic medication picture was available in the country.
Currently, more than 3,000 Cubans receive hemodialysis treatment in about 56 nephrology services distributed by the country, according to official figures. However, many face a system on the verge of collapse, in which medical care depends more on the will of health personnel than on efficient management by the State.
“We deserve respect,” concluded Dr. Moreno, demanding not only immediate solutions, but also a structural change in the way in which public health is administered in Cuba.
In April 2023, Cubanet He reported a serious incident in Holguín who left at least one deceased person and dozens infected with hepatitis C in the hospitals Lucía Íñiguez Landín and Vladimir Ilich Lenin. The victim was Dianet Betancourt Pérez, who died after infected during a hemodialysis procedure and then develop a fungal infection. Although initially 16 cases were reported, anonymous testimonies indicated that the real number of infections could have been much greater, probably affecting about 90 of 168 patients treated in both centers
The testimonies indicate that the outbreak was linked to systematic biosafety violations, including the reuse of up to 15 times of dialyzers and filters without adequate sterilization, as well as the lack of soap and essential elements for disinfection.
