Havana/Part of the front structure of the Carlos Enrique Font Pupo Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital in Banes, in the province of Holguín, collapsed during the afternoon of this Sunday. The report of the incident did not come from the population, but from an official journalist, who thanked “God that there was no loss of human life to regret.”
The collapse occurred in an outdoor area where “relatives and companions almost always wait,” according to Flabio Gutiérrez, who has collaborated for the provincial newspaper for seven years. Nowwhich, so far, has not reported the fact.
In his message, the communicator pointed out that “this hospital has been giving something to talk about since its foundation. It is not possible that a few days after its inauguration (in 2001) it already had leaks. Its comfort has always been highly questioned, as has its service.” In the images that he released along with his text, a large fragment of collapsed ceiling can be seen a few meters from an access door to the hospital center.
“I thought it wasn’t true, but a few hours ago I passed by there. Incredible, a relatively new hospital, numerous resources and a lot of propaganda. There is the result and the silence in response,” responded a user to the communicator’s report.
“Incredible, a relatively new hospital, numerous resources and a lot of propaganda. There is the result and silence in response”
According to other testimonies published on social networks, this access had been closed months ago due to the risk of collapse. “About three months ago, that part was closed due to a possible collapse, leaving that entrance closed, and the entrance to the hospital lobby was opened through which, since then, patients and workers have entered,” indicated another user. However, there is no record of whether repair work was carried out during that period or whether there was any project to recover the structure.
The collapse in Banes is not an isolated event and adds to several episodes that have revealed infrastructure problems in health centers in the country in recent years. The previous registered case occurred last May at the Manuel Fajardo Hospital in Havana. In a post on Facebook, pro-government journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso reported that there was a fire in an area without much activity of the institution. This condition facilitated its containment and rapid extinction. However, both medical staff and patients had to be evacuated.
A month before, a fire broke out at the Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Provincial Hospital in Cienfuegos. The accident forced the evacuation of patients, companions and health personnel from some relevant areas of the medical enclave, with no injuries reported from the incident.
Days before, another fire was reported at the Saturnino Lora Torres Provincial Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital, the most important hospital center in Santiago de Cuba. A nurse confirmed to CyberCuba that the incident occurred in the intermediate therapy room, where there were patients from that area and also from intensive care, the latter affected by leaks coming from the upper floor.
Another fire was reported at the Saturnino Lora Torres Provincial Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital, the most important hospital center in Santiago de Cuba.
Previously, in June 2023, the roof of the Calixto García Hospital in Havana was reported to have collapsed, forcing patients to be transferred. “Today is the second time that pieces of the ceiling have fallen again in the postoperative room of the Calixto García in Havana. Stoneware fell from the false ceiling. The first time was three weeks ago when some debris fell on top of a doctor and a patient,” an Internet user identified as Diarmuid wrote at that time on X.
That same year in Camagüey, the floor of the Ophthalmological Center of the Manuel Ascunce Domenech University Hospital rose abruptly. The institution was the one that reported that the event “caused a loud noise, causing fear in the patients attending the outpatient clinic. One person was injured as a result of the event caused by the sudden exit of the people.”
In that same province, the José Martí polyclinic, located in the center of the city of Camagüey, closed its doors months before due to the imminent danger of collapse. Due to this, all services had to be transferred to other centers.
While health centers suffer these incidents due to lack of investment and abandonment, in the political sphere it is presumed that “health is a central social achievement of the country and for that reason it does not admit neglect; it is the sector where the population is most demanding and where any failure is immediately felt in the life of the family,” Miguel Díaz-Canel said this Sunday during a report on various visits made by authorities to institutions in the health sector.
“Health in our country is a fundamental human right, an achievement of the revolution and not a commodity or a privilege”
The president stressed that “health in our country is a fundamental human right, an achievement of the revolution and not a commodity or a privilege.”
However, Díaz-Canel’s message occurs in a context in which the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) itself admitted last May that in Cuba fdischarge 91.5% of medications and health supplies.
The shortage was already evident as far back as December 2021, when 50% was reported. From there the situation has worsened by leaps and bounds. In March 2022, the rate rose to 56.6%, in August 2023 it was already at 66%, and in September 2024 it reached 85%. Just two months later (November 2024) an unusual peak was reached, with 90.9%, but in 2025 it was contained.
