Crisis in Cuban hospitals: Without supplies or syringes for emergency injections

The shortage of medications is a severe problem that affects Cubans, and as a result, ailments can become significantly complicated, especially when there aren't even syringes available in the country to administer the injections that can alleviate milder conditions.

This happened to a Cuban resident in Manzanillo who recounted the problems he encountered when he went to the Emergency Department of a health center in his area.

According to this person, at 4:00 a.m. his girlfriend began to feel intense abdominal pain, caused by a supposed gastritis crisis. Upon arriving at the Clinical Surgical Hospital, there was "a group of young specialists gathered in conversation, ignoring the newly arrived patient," he recounted as the first impact.

“Good morning, can someone please attend to my girlfriend,” he comments that he said. One of the young doctors approaches them and begins to attend to his partner; however, the response received did not solve their situation: “I can give you an injection, but there is no syringe in the hospital.”

"Where do I look for a syringe at this hour? And is this a hospital? My people, what is this? There is nothing here, what is happening with Cuba? People are dying, where are the achievements of the Revolution?" she questioned.

In the comments section of the post, several Cubans reported having experienced similar stories.

"Shame is what doesn't exist, everything has to be bought and they themselves sell you the syringes... I went through that with my father," said an internet user.

"That's right, that is the sad reality we are living, but they also say that there isn’t any, and when you go to any fair in Havana, you see all the medications, and I clarify they are not foreign because medilip is only in Cuba. In La Cuevita, there is what you are looking for," added another user.

Another internet user expressed sympathy for the situation and responded: “You won’t see the achievements of the Revolution because they don't exist; misery lives in this country and each day will be worse. We have to come to these institutions with everything in hand in order to be able to resolve it.”

Last August, a Cuban doctor, Roberto Edelso Ramírez, passed away in the province of Cienfuegos due to a lack of medical supplies for patients in coronary care.

Along with this, the apparent lack of response from the staff led to the tragic outcome at the Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital.

Another case occurred in Guantánamo when an elderly man was denied medical attention in a hospital and instead "was sent home to die without being given first aid."

Since the beginning of the year, Cuban ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel has stated that the shortage of medications and medical supplies on the island would continue, where pharmacies are out of stock and dozens of products from the essential list are missing.

In a meeting with officials from the health sector where the lack of supplies and the exodus of professionals affecting Cuban hospitals were analyzed, the leader stated that there are negative trends in the sector such as "the sale of services."

"Given the lack of supplies and medications, the best response we can provide to our population in such difficult times is the quality of services. We will face shortages; we will continue to experience shortages of medications," he stated.