A Leak of Advanced Age

A Leak of Advanced Age / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on October 2, 2013

Twenty-eight years ago, when Patricia was pregnant, she was treated at
González Coro Hospital, the former Holy Cross Clinic, on 21st Street
between 4th and 5th in Vedado. In those days it was the desire of every
mother-to-be to be treated there since it was the place with the most
prominent specialists. Among the last such facilities to have been built
in the 1950s, it also had not yet deteriorated as much as its counterparts.

At the time my friend noticed that in the Obstetrics and Gynecology
waiting room there was a leak coming from the dropped ceiling under
which a towel and bucket had been placed to catch the splashing water.
Back then, this could be "overlooked" since it was logical to assume it
was only a temporary situation. At least that is what she thought.

Twenty-eight years have passed and my friend recently returned to the
same waiting room, this time with her daughter, who is now expecting.
Imagine her horror when she saw that the same old leak, which had been
her constant companion during the nine months of her pregnancy, was not
only still there but had grown to be much bigger. It is now almost a
waterfall, like the one at Soroa*, and a large part of the dropped
ceiling has been destroyed. The bucket currently used to catch the water
is much bigger and the towel is no longer large enough to contain the
splashes forming a giant puddle around which the medical personnel and
patients must navigate, subject to the obvious risk of slipping and falling.

It seems to me that, with all the money invested over the last
twenty-eight years in buckets and towels, they could have — if they so
desired — fixed the problem in the dropped ceiling, as they should have,
and thus avoided the risk of an accident, which in the case of a
pregnant woman could be fatal. Who are the officials responsible for
correcting this situation? It is perhaps the hospital director? Might it
be members of the National Assembly. What is quite clear to me is that
it is certainly not the doctors or patients who are responsible for
fixing this problem. I am also convinced that, if no one complains, this
unfortunate situation will continue until one day the waiting room is
closed, then the clinic, then the whole floor and finally the hospital,
as we have seen happen with other such facilities.

*Translator's note: A site in Cuba's Pinar del Rio province.

1 October 2013

Source: "A Leak of Advanced Age / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba" -
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