Kidney patients from Maisí reported the dire conditions they face during their trips to Baracoa for hemodialysis, where they claim to be without electricity, drinking water, or food, and are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor. This situation even affects a child they describe as "almost malnourished."
A video circulated on social media shows hemodialysis patients from Maisí denouncing these terrible conditions at the center in Baracoa where they receive treatment.
"We're here without electricity, without drinking water... it's 12:20 and there's still no lunch," one of them reports. Another adds, "There's nothing, there's no solution here, the cold doesn't help, we have no water, we have nothing, the food is bad."
Patients report that they have gone two consecutive nights without electricity and three nights unable to sleep due to the heat. The restrooms lack hygiene, and the cooks are not provided with any basic supplies to prepare the meals.
"The cooks are given nothing to cook with. They are given nothing to cook with. No oil, no fat, nothing, no salt, nothing," recounts one of the patients.
The living conditions are equally precarious. "We have to put the mattresses on the floor here in the guest house, here in the dining room, here in the living room, to be able to sleep," describes another patient.
The comparison they make with animals encapsulates the group's desperation: "The buffaloes here have better conditions than we do. We have no life at all, gentlemen."
The statement concludes with a direct appeal: "What we are asking for is help, that you assist us."
Maisí, the municipality located at the easternmost tip of Cuba, in the province of Guantánamo, is situated between 53 and 63 kilometers by road from the Hospital Octavio de la Concepción y de la Pedraja in Baracoa, where renal patients from that area receive hemodialysis.
Geographical remoteness turns any logistical shortcoming into a direct threat to your life.
What is happening in Baracoa is not an isolated case. The crisis of hemodialysis in Cuba affects nearly 3,000 patients spread across 56 units throughout the country, as acknowledged by the regime itself in March of this year.
In June, patients in Camagüey went almost a week without treatment due to a lack of acid concentrate and bicarbonate. In July, patients in Santiago de Cuba experienced a reduction in their session duration from four to two hours due to a shortage of supplies. In Las Tunas, the ambulance service was paralyzed due to the fuel crisis.
The regime responded in May with the announcement of the addition of 200 electric vehicles for transporting patients, and in August, it assigned 20 electric cars specifically to Guantánamo. None of these measures addressed the shortage of medical supplies or the blackouts that disrupt the operation of the machines.
Hemodialysis is a lifesaving treatment that requires regular sessions, continuous electricity, purified water, and specific supplies. Skipping sessions can lead to serious complications such as hyperkalemia, pulmonary edema, or even death.
Filed under: