CubaHeadlines

Neighbors Bring Generator to Havana Clinic for Emergency ECG Amid Power Outages

Saturday, June 21, 2025 by Emily Vargas

In an astonishing display of community solidarity, residents from the Eléctrico neighborhood in Havana were compelled to bring their own generator to a local clinic so that a patient could undergo an electrocardiogram. This occurred due to a complete lack of electricity, backup generators, and emergency resources. This incident, which highlights the collapse of Cuba's healthcare system amid an escalating energy crisis, was captured on video and has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

The footage shows a man pushing a portable generator through the clinic's corridors to the emergency area, accompanied by a voice expressing frustration: “Neighbors are bringing a generator to do an ECG at Eléctrico Clinic because there’s no power, no generator, and no shame.” The patient in question exhibited "all the symptoms of her condition," indicating possible urgent cardiac issues. With no electricity or backup resources to conduct a basic test, neighbors took matters into their own hands. In a heartfelt act of solidarity, they mounted the generator on a horse-drawn cart and transported it from a home to the clinic.

This poignant scene of a privately-owned generator being wheeled through the streets on a cart, flanked by citizens who couldn't wait for ambulances or institutional solutions, symbolizes the broader plight within Cuba. “There goes the generator on a horse cart because there are no ambulances and because there is nothing,” a voice is heard saying in the video.

Recurring Crisis: Hospitals Left in the Dark Across Cuba

This situation is not isolated. Numerous reports have emerged from other provinces where prolonged blackouts and inadequate maintenance of hospital generators severely jeopardize medical care. In recent months, there have been alarming accounts of surgeries performed by flashlight, childbirth in dark rooms, and emergency patient transfers due to non-functional life-support equipment.

Many of Cuba's healthcare facilities have non-operational emergency generators due to lack of maintenance, batteries, or fuel. In this instance, the so-called Eléctrico Clinic had no available generator, forcing residents to improvise with their limited resources. This incident has reignited concerns about the state of Cuba's healthcare system, severely strained by resource shortages, mass migration of healthcare personnel, and administrative inefficiencies.

Meanwhile, the Cuban population is increasingly burdened with responsibilities that should be state-guaranteed, even in critical situations that endanger patients' lives. Social media has erupted with indignation. Users criticize not only the dire state of medical infrastructure but also institutional neglect. “This is what we have come to. An ECG depends on a neighbor having a generator and being willing to lend it,” one user lamented.

The phrase resonating most from the video perhaps sums it all up: “No power, no generator, no shame.” This statement reflects the accumulated frustration of citizens who continue to face the collapse of essential services, even in the most sensitive area: healthcare.

Throughout recent years, the combination of extended blackouts, fuel shortages, and equipment deterioration has turned Cuban healthcare facilities into high-risk environments. In March 2025, a massive blackout forced the urgent relocation of critically ill patients from Cárdenas Hospital in Matanzas because life-support equipment could not be maintained. Pregnant women, children, and ventilator-dependent adults were among those transferred to facilities with functioning electricity.

In Cienfuegos that same month, a sudden power outage caught medical staff off guard during nighttime shifts, forcing them to rely on flashlights and mobile phones due to the absence of reliable backup systems. In September 2024, a Cuban woman shared a video online showing the maternity hospital in Matanzas completely dark, provoking outrage and fear for the lives of hospitalized newborns.

The pattern continues with different nuances but the same root cause: in May 2024, another blackout hit Havana's Maternal Hospital, and Santiago de Cuba's Oncological Hospital lost power for hours due to a lack of oil for its generator. In both cases, medical staff had to care for patients without the minimum safety conditions.

Even operating rooms have been impacted by this precariousness. In June 2023, a viral video showed Cuban doctors performing surgery during a blackout, using a cellphone flashlight to illuminate the surgical area. What should be an exception caused by a rare emergency has become routine.

The situation has also affected institutions like Camagüey General Hospital, where a September 2024 power cut directly endangered the lives of patients on life-support equipment. In many instances, generators do not activate, either due to lack of maintenance or because there’s no fuel, as happened in November at a clinic in the same province.

Back in 2022, reports highlighted the collapse of Trinidad Hospital in Sancti Spíritus and warnings from nurses at the provincial hospital about the constant blackouts threatening patient safety. Since then, the situation has only worsened. The failures affect not only provincial hospitals but also those in the capital. In June 2023, an electrical system fire at Joaquín Albarrán Clinical Surgical Hospital in Havana forced the evacuation of critically ill patients.

The recurrence of these events underscores an unsustainable reality: Cuba's public healthcare system, once a national pride, now operates under extreme conditions. Each blackout not only turns off the lights in an operating room or emergency ward but also risks the lives of those most in need of urgent medical care.

Understanding Cuba's Healthcare and Energy Crisis

What prompted neighbors in Havana to bring a generator to a clinic?

Residents brought a generator to the clinic due to a complete lack of electricity and backup resources, allowing a patient to undergo an urgent electrocardiogram.

How does the energy crisis affect healthcare in Cuba?

The energy crisis in Cuba leads to frequent blackouts, severely impacting healthcare by disrupting vital medical services and forcing medical staff to work under unsafe conditions.

Have similar incidents occurred in other parts of Cuba?

Yes, similar incidents have been reported across various provinces, where hospitals face prolonged power outages and lack functional backup systems, compromising patient care.

© CubaHeadlines 2025