A fire caused by an electrical overload affected the hemodialysis room of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Provincial University Hospital in Bayamo, Granma province, where a short circuit required the intervention of firefighters and partially disrupted an essential service for patients with kidney diseases.
The incident occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m., before the patient care sessions began, according to the General Directorate of Health of Granma on Facebook.
According to the official statement, the fire was caused by a short circuit in the main electrical distribution board (PGD) of the room, due to an overload in the system.
The emergency prompted the Hospital's Fire Protection Brigade and the Fire Department to take action, and their teams managed to extinguish the flames in less than an hour, according to the official account of the incident.
Health authorities assured that there were no casualties or significant damage to the infrastructure, although they acknowledged partial impacts on the operation of the hemodialysis unit.
The incident occurred before the start of the scheduled sessions for the day, a significant circumstance given the dependence of renal patients on this treatment, which requires specialized equipment and a stable power supply.
Hemodialysis allows for the removal of waste substances and excess fluids from the blood when the kidneys are unable to perform this function properly. Interrupting the sessions can pose a risk to the lives of those who require the procedure on a regular basis.
According to the General Directorate of Health of Granma, efforts are being made to restore the service's operation as quickly as possible and to reorganize medical care with the aim of ensuring the continuity of treatments.
This fire occurs following other recent electrical incidents in Cuban hospitals, where malfunctions have forced the adoption of extraordinary measures to preserve medical care.
The day before, an electrical malfunction at the Julio M. Aristegui Villamil Hospital in Cárdenas, Matanzas, forced the urgent transfer of intensive care patients to the Faustino Pérez Provincial Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital.
The General Health Directorate of Matanzas confirmed that it was necessary to disconnect the power supply to carry out the repairs and arranged for the mobilization of ambulances and medical equipment to transfer patients admitted to intensive care units.
Another incident occurred in April of this year when an electrical failure at the Saturnino Lora Hospital in Santiago de Cuba forced the evacuation of 12 patients from the Intensive Care and Intermediate Care units.
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