Investigation into the intrusion of a group of people in the intensive care unit of a pediatric hospital in Havana

The Juan Manuel Márquez Teaching Pediatric Hospital in Havana announced this Tuesday that authorities will investigate the unauthorized intrusion of a group of individuals into its Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which occurred on the night of Monday.

The Board of Directors of the center issued an official informational note in which they described the event as "a regrettable incident."

"A group of individuals accessed the care area without the proper authorization, disrupting the normal functioning of the service and creating a tense situation that affected the healthcare staff and jeopardized the proper delivery of medical care," he emphasized.

The authorities intervened to restore order and ensure the continuity of care for hospitalized patients, according to the statement.

The hospital did not identify the individuals who entered the restricted area, did not specify how many there were, nor did it explain the reason for their presence in the unit. It also did not detail whether there were any detainees or if any patients were directly affected.

The Intensive Care Unit of Juan Manuel Márquez treats children with serious illnesses: "polytraumatized patients, neurosurgical cases, and other conditions that require intensive care."

It is one of the three units of this type operating in Havana, within a national system that has 37 Pediatric Intensive Care Units across the country.

The Management Council of "Juan Manuel Márquez" recognized the "professional, calm, and responsible performance" of the health team during the incident and called on the population to "preserve an environment of respect, dialogue, and collaboration within health institutions."

The statement concluded with a call to trust in the institutions: "The protection of patients, their families, and the workers is a priority. Therefore, we trust that the competent authorities will conduct the necessary investigations to clarify what happened and act in accordance with the current legislation."

The incident occurs at a time of extreme complexity and tension in the country's hospitals, particularly pediatric ones, due to the profound crisis in the national healthcare system.

Last week, a mother reported a cockroach infestation at the "Juan Manuel Márquez" hospital while her daughter was hospitalized, a problem that has been recurring since at least 2023.

Days earlier, the Spanish NGO Open Arms delivered solar panels, batteries, an ultrasound machine, and medical supplies to the hospital to provide energy autonomy to the ICU, in response to the frequent power outages affecting the facility.

In other provinces, the situation is not any better: in early July, the generator of the Pediatric Hospital of Camagüey experienced a malfunction that left the facility with reduced electrical supply. In June, there were reports of the circulation of unaccredited vendors within pediatric hospital wards.