The hygienic conditions of the Saturnino Lora Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba were exposed in a video that reveals the severe deterioration of its bathrooms, with accumulated dirt, leaks, urine and feces, broken pipes, a foul smell, and mold on the walls. The images, shared by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, depict a scene of neglect that the reporter termed “a silent health crime.”
"The images coming from the bathrooms of the Saturnino Lora Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba are the most painful evidence that the healthcare system on the island has hit rock bottom," wrote Mayeta Labrada. "Under these conditions, there is no body that can withstand it, nor any treatment that will work," she added, lamenting that in Cuba "entering the hospital with an ailment and leaving even more ill has become a reality that no one can deny."
The reporter stated that the abandonment of the hospital reflects the collapse of the public health system on the island. “Meanwhile, the authorities continue to talk about efforts, protocols, and strategies, but the walls, ceilings, bathrooms, beds, and hallways of the Provincial tell another story: that of a broken, abandoned, and unregulated system,” he wrote. He also emphasized that “patients deserve respect, cleanliness, and dignity, and the Provincial Hospital, which should be a reference in the eastern region, is today a painful reflection of the disaster that they have turned public health into in Cuba.”
The complaint sparked outrage on social media, where numerous users expressed their dissatisfaction with the conditions of the hospital and shared similar experiences in other health centers across the country.
"It is necessary to continue showcasing more things like this, so the entire world can see the great healthcare system in Cuba and how well it is doing," wrote a person ironically. Another user criticized the lack of hygiene and questioned the responsibility of the managers and the staff in charge of cleaning.
A comment noted that "it's not just in Santiago de Cuba; there are many more hospitals with the same conditions, which aren't reported because the healthcare system is shameful."
A woman reported that her relative was admitted to the facility and that the bathrooms and hallways are "disgusting." Other comments mentioned that "all the hospitals are disgusting" and recalled that in "Maternidad Norte, the bathrooms are disgusting, even in the cesarean sections."
"That's been the case for years, with more cockroaches and bedbugs everywhere," wrote one person. Another commented, "What we show is pity, shame, and pain. And the sad part is that nobody cares. It goes out on Facebook, the whole world sees it, and nobody does anything." Some interventions noted that "the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the hospital have always been precarious" and that "they are now even more exacerbated."
Another person pointed out that there are "few aides" and that "neither the patients nor the families take care of the little cleanliness that exists," considering that "people think that aides are slaves of the hospitals."
"I don't know what's worse, dying at home without medical care or dying from an infection in hospitals," summarized a user, reflecting the despair felt by many.
The case of the Provincial Hospital of Santiago de Cuba is part of a pattern that is repeating throughout the country. In Havana, part of the ceiling of the Calixto García Hospital collapsed recently within one of its wards, causing panic among patients. A witness stated that “the patients were still sleeping, people got scared, they started to become nervous” and described the ward as “very deteriorated, with holes in the walls and exposed pipes.”
In Holguín, a video shared on social media showed a patient being transported on a chair in the Lenin Hospital due to a lack of stretchers, an incident that sparked hundreds of reactions and testimonies from people who claimed to have had similar experiences. In the comments, users reported that "there were no stretchers, no IV fluids, no syringes," and that family members had to bring everything, from medication to hygiene supplies.
Days earlier, the Cuban doctor Alexander Figueredo Izaguirre reported that trucks are being used to transport bodies due to the saturation of hospitals and morgues. “Every body that goes out in those trucks represents a life that could have been saved. The hospitals are lacking hygiene, reagents, oxygen, and sufficient medical staff,” wrote the doctor.
In Santa Clara, the management of the Psychiatric Hospital denied a healthcare crisis despite the circulation of videos showing patients lying on mats infested with insects.
In her complaint, Mayeta Labrada captured the feelings of many Cubans: “This can’t go on any longer.” Her post reignited the debate about the decline of the healthcare system on the island, where images of dirty hospitals, collapsed roofs, and a lack of resources are becoming increasingly common.
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