An incident at Guillermo Domínguez General Teaching Hospital in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, resulted in a flood caused by a psychiatric patient, as confirmed by official sources. The hospital's social media account reported that on Saturday morning, a patient damaged the sink's water connection in the ward's pantry, leading to flooding in the dining area and part of the bathroom.
This event necessitated immediate cleanup efforts by hospital staff. Without the assistance of cleaning personnel, the shift supervisor, floor manager, and other staff members on administrative duty worked to dry the affected areas. By 11:00 a.m., three hours after the incident, the ward was completely clean.
"Such incidents can happen due to the nature of the patients hospitalized here, but we always strive to find a solution as quickly as possible. We appreciate the support of those who understand these situations. Our goal is to provide the best care and comfort to all patients," the statement noted, without specifying the patient's condition or whether they were medicated at the time.
In the comments section, a hospital worker recounted a similar event from a few months ago. "A similar incident happened at night several months back. I called all hospital staff, and even the interns rolled up their pants to help with brooms, mops, and other cleaning tools. Within an hour, everything was dry and put back in order. We know there are many issues, and many can be solved with organization. There is no cleaning staff, and we have to find solutions, but we all come together to promptly address incidents like this," she wrote.
Recently, there have been numerous complaints about the mistreatment of patients by healthcare personnel, as well as a lack of equipment for essential treatments like electroconvulsive therapy. These shortages have been reported by both patients' families and activists on social media. Similar issues have been reported at other facilities, such as the Luis Ramírez López Psychiatric Hospital in Guantánamo, where abuses and lack of essential resources have been documented.
Last year, a psychiatric patient from Las Tunas hospital escaped due to hunger and ended up at a family's doorstep asking for food. A Cuban woman recounted how she found a young man, around 20 years old, at her door requesting clothes and food, claiming he had escaped because he was very hungry.
So far, Cuban authorities have issued statements claiming that quality medical care is provided to psychiatric patients, but they have not directly addressed the allegations of mistreatment or offered concrete solutions to the reported resource shortages.
Issues Surrounding Psychiatric Care in Cuba
What caused the flood at Guillermo Domínguez Hospital?
The flood was caused by a psychiatric patient who damaged the water connection of a sink in the ward's pantry, leading to water overflowing into the dining and bathroom areas.
How did hospital staff respond to the flooding incident?
Without cleaning personnel, the shift supervisor, floor manager, and other staff members on duty took immediate action to clean up the flooded areas, managing to dry everything within three hours.
What recent issues have been reported in Cuban psychiatric hospitals?
There have been multiple reports of patient mistreatment by healthcare staff and a lack of equipment for essential treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy, in Cuban psychiatric hospitals.