Cuban Doctor Dies Due to Lack of Medical Supplies in Cienfuegos Hospital

The Cuban doctor Roberto Edelso Ramírez passed away in the province of Cienfuegos due to the shortage of medical supplies for patients in coronary care. His son, Edgar Ramírez Turiño, took to Facebook to denounce the lack of essential medical supplies and equipment, as well as the apparent lack of response from the staff, which led to the tragic outcome at the Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital. He is demanding answers from the authorities.

Dr. Ramírez, a gold-medal graduate and a recognized professional in Venezuela for his remarkable work there over eight years, was working in Area III (Red Cross) of Cienfuegos. He had suffered a heart attack five years ago and had another one two weeks ago, which led to his hospitalization and subsequent discharge on July 29. However, his condition worsened again on July 31, necessitating his admission to the intensive cardiology unit, according to his son.

Medical Negligence and Lack of Supplies

"We were told he needed a coronary angiography at the cardiocenter in Santa Clara, but there was no availability of an intensive care ambulance," said Ramírez Turiño. Despite reassurances from the doctors that the medication being administered intravenously was "miraculous" and that "no one dies from it," the patient spent the night in darkness, and at 5:40 am, when the lights were turned on, his hand was swollen because the trocar had slipped out of the vein, and there was no replacement available.

"I called the nurse, and she realized the trocar had come out. 'Hmmm,' she said, 'and there's nothing here.' My father, being aware and a specialist himself, told me to 'watch out for the heart rate now because the medication isn't getting in.' She hung the IV needle on its stand, starting the countdown of my father's life," recounted Ramírez Turiño.

The family eventually found a trocar, but it broke during insertion. "I started calling friends, and one brought a small piece. The heart rate was already showing 126, after being between 88 and 94 during the night. In a state of panic, my father told me to call the on-duty cardiologist again," his son described.

These were terrifying moments. "While they were looking for the doctor, my dad asked the nurse to quickly inject a furosemide. The nurse replied, 'Hey, you're a doctor, you know there's nothing here,'" he continued. At that moment, his father asked for oxygen, fearing his lungs would fill with fluid. The nurse informed them that there was no oxygen fork either.

"Hearing this, my father told me to break an empty IV tube and put it directly. The nurse did just that, while I desperately blew air into it with my handkerchief already soaked in tears. Then the cardiologist arrived, and seeing the situation, went for the defibrillator. My dad asked to open a syringe to remove the needle and allow the medication to enter the IV. The cardiologist urgently requested a furosemide from the nurse, who said there wasn't any but thought she had one in her purse. Bingo, she did," Ramírez Turiño narrated.

In the midst of panic and realizing none of his requests were being met during the critical episode, his father looked at him and uttered his last words, "Oh son, I'm going to die." He collapsed onto his son's chest, who then lost consciousness. "When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a couch with a fan fixed on me, and my brother was running around the room and the hospital," the post detailed.

Ultimately, the patient was transferred to the multipurpose intensive care unit, where he died within half an hour. The family demands not just answers from the authorities but also measures to prevent avoidable deaths in Cuba, where complaints about the shortage of hospital supplies are increasing.

"I'm not complaining about a builder who made a mistake and placed a crooked brick, which can be hammered out and replaced. I'm seeking justice for someone defenseless who was sick and expected to be provided the necessary care based on what he had studied and practiced throughout his medical career," emphasized his son.

"I will publish this story hoping that by sharing it, it reaches those it is intended for and justice is served. I don't care who pays the price because my father paid the ultimate cost without any responsibility; with his life. As a family, we demand confirmation if the hospital was indeed so severely lacking in basic supplies in a coronary intensive care unit. Will they continue to claim that our greatest strength is healthcare, and that it's written in golden letters?" he questioned.