Psychiatric patient causes flooding in hospital in Las Tunas

A patient from the Psychiatry ward of the Guillermo Domínguez General Teaching Hospital in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, caused a flood in areas of the facility, according to official sources.

A social media post from the hospital itself specified that on the morning of this Saturday, a patient damaged the sink's water connection in the pantry of the ward, resulting in flooding in the entire dining area and part of the bathroom.

The incident required several workers to take care of cleaning the room to remove the water as quickly as possible.

Without a cleaning assistant, the shift manager, floor manager, the supervisor, and the workers on administrative duty dried everything. Three hours later, at 11:00 a.m., the room was already clean.

"Such incidents can occur due to the characteristics of the patients hospitalized there, but a solution will always be sought as quickly as possible. We appreciate the support from many who understand the nature of these incidents. We will always strive to provide the best care and comfort to all admitted patients," the statement said, without specifying what illness the patient was suffering from or whether they were medicated at that moment.

In the comments section, a hospital worker recounted a similar incident that occurred a few months ago.

"Several months ago, a similar event took place at night. I called all the hospital staff at that time, even the interns rolled up their pants and with brooms, mops, and other cleaning tools, everything was dry and organized in less than an hour. We know there are a thousand problems and many can be resolved with organization, there is no cleaning staff and we need to find a solution, but in the face of adversity, we all came together to provide an immediate response to incidents like this," he wrote.

Recently, there have been multiple denunciations regarding the mistreatment of patients by healthcare staff, as well as the lack of equipment for essential treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy. These shortcomings have been reported by both patients' families and activists on social media.

Users and family members have reported situations in other institutions, such as the case of the "Luis Ramírez López" Psychiatric Hospital in Guantánamo, where abuses and a lack of essential resources have also been documented.

Last year, a patient from the psychiatric hospital in Las Tunas escaped due to the hunger they were experiencing and ended up at a family's house asking for food.

A Cuban woman recounted that when she opened the door of her home, she encountered a young man of about 20 years old who was in the doorway and asked her for clothes and food. He said he had escaped because he was very hungry.

So far, the Cuban authorities have issued statements claiming that quality medical care is provided to psychiatric patients, but they have not directly addressed the accusations of mistreatment nor have they offered concrete solutions to the reported resource shortages.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Situation of the Psychiatric Health System in Cuba