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A doctor from Holguín identified as Georgina Pérez reported the lack of intensive care beds at Hospital Lenin, while her father fights for his life with a diagnosis of mixed acidosis.
In her message, shared in the Facebook group “Revolico Holguín Here Potatoes Are Not Sold”, the doctor recounted how she has had to “betray her medical principles” to turn to social media in search of help.
"My father is dying, and I've had to resort to this means to get a bed in intensive care. Today, I had to betray my medical training principles and ask for help because my father is dying," Pérez wrote.
He explained that his father was admitted to the Geriatrics A ward of the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Provincial Hospital, and that to treat him he had to "buy everything": medications, supplies, and materials that should be provided by the Cuban public health system.
"I've had to buy everything and I don't mind, but I can't buy a bed in intensive care. I'm urgently asking for help for my dad. I'm not one to stir controversy, but I know my system is hurting from so much catastrophe. Help, my old man is dying!" she added in her post.
The testimony of the doctor quickly went viral among health professionals and citizens of Holguín, who reported the hospital crisis facing the eastern part of the country following the impact of Hurricane Melissa and the resurgence of viral diseases.
The lack of medications, the scarcity of laboratory equipment, the deterioration of hospital conditions, and the shortage of intensive care beds are some of the issues facing the Cuban healthcare system, once considered a regional model.
In his post, Pérez directly mentioned Dra. Amalia, a doctor at the hospital, whom he asked for support in transferring his father to an intensive care unit and obtaining a blood gas analysis.
"You helped me, and I knocked on your door, but my effort was too late for how my father is," he lamented.
Hours after her post went viral, the elderly man was admitted to a step-down unit, the internet user herself noted.
"This shouldn't happen to anyone, and even less to a doctor who dedicates her life to saving others. What a great pain," wrote a Facebook user in response to the post.
Other comments reported that hospitals in Holguín and other provinces lack reagents, oxygen, and basic equipment for the treatment of critical patients, a situation that has worsened since the pandemic and the recent natural disasters.
All this crisis occurs amid strong reports of a healthcare collapse on the island, where currently serious viruses like dengue and chikungunya are circulating.
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