Havana, September 7 (Prensa Latina) The director of the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, Araiz Consuegra, assured that the staff of the Havana institution will not cease their work despite the damage caused by the United States blockade against Cuba.
By Wilfredo Camero Hernández
Cuba Newsroom
In exclusive statements to Prensa Latina, Consuegra listed the damage caused by the coercive measures imposed by Washington on Havana, especially those related to the lack of electricity due to the repeated failures of the National Electric System (SEN).
The collapse of the SEN means suspending operations that are currently underway, he stated.
He added that a child arriving in imminent danger to life is taken to the operating room, where the anesthesia machines and equipment are working, “however, we cannot use the air conditioning in the intensive care unit and that is an epidemiological risk, but we cannot let the patient die.”
Regarding this serious problem, he noted that currently, thanks to the 24 solar panels and Power Bank donated in July by the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Open Arms, “the impacts have been reduced by a small percentage.”
Emergency interventions are not suspended, but we have had to interrupt or not perform procedures related to brain tumors because they take 18 to 20 hours in a room, he stressed.
Consuegra explained that the impact of restrictive U.S. policies also affects the availability of medications and supplies, resulting in a surgical waiting list of over 900 patients. The issue of anesthetics is crucial; both induction agents and pure anesthetics are necessary for surgeries, she noted.
He pointed out that today they do not have most of the first-line antibiotics, especially those used in surgical treatment protocols, and that affects the evolution of patients.
The acquisition of raw materials by the country’s pharmaceutical industry has been affected as one of the main consequences of the extraterritorial impact of Washington’s blockade of the nation.
He also detailed that medications such as Omeprazole and Ranitidine, used in patients in the gastro ward and in the Intensive Care Unit, are the most scarce; however, no deaths due to lack of care have been reported to date.
Consuegra exemplified that the support of NGOs and social projects in the process of finding solutions to the current shortcomings in the institution has been of vital importance.
Through the Hatuey US solidarity project, access to procedures for children receiving oncohematological treatments has been guaranteed, as well as the acquisition of necessary supplies by medical personnel.
The sociocultural project Cabildo Quisicuaba, for its part, has facilitated the distribution of food products such as powdered milk and clothing for the operating rooms and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“We had a little patient in Neonatology, a newborn girl, who needed a specific type of milk called Enfamil, so Quisicuaba found it for us and donated it,” the director recalled.
The hospital was recently visited by the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, with whom the progress of digitization and telemedicine as organizational tools in the decision-making process in crisis situations was evaluated.
Advances in these areas have made communications more viable and humane, based on the discussion of cases with other provinces of the country, in compliance with the missions of this institution.
Consuegra described teamwork as one of the main strengths of the group he leads.
“Although fuel shortages persist, we always try to find alternatives, even with an electric motorcycle,” he explained.
“We have workers here with electric motorcycles who help when it comes to finding a specialist or transporting blood,” he reaffirmed.
On numerous occasions, the highest leadership of the Cuban state and government has called for strengthening innovation and seeking solutions with the limited resources available.
Doing more with less is a premise for all the staff of this institution who work to bring smiles back to Cuban children, who are the main victims of the American aggression against the country.
arb/wch
