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Nine-hour power outage paralyzes Ramón Matías Mella Hospital
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic /Health & Science

Nine-hour power outage paralyzes Ramón Matías Mella Hospital

From Diario Libre · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Patients at the Ramón Matías Mella Provincial Hospital in Dajabón experienced suspended consultations and uncertainty due to a power outage lasting over nine hours.
  • Over a dozen admitted patients were transferred to other regional health centers to ensure continuity of care.
  • Hospital authorities did not respond to media inquiries about the cause of the outage or the measures taken, raising concerns about patient care and the hospital's operational capacity.

Patients seeking medical attention at the Ramón Matías Mella Provincial Hospital in Dajabón faced significant disruption and uncertainty on Monday. Consultations were suspended for more than nine hours due to a prolonged power outage, leaving many, including those who traveled considerable distances, without care.

The outage also impacted over a dozen patients already admitted to the hospital. To guarantee the continuity of their treatments, these patients were transferred to other health facilities in the Northwest region. This situation has heightened concerns among patients and their families about the hospital's ability to provide consistent medical services.

One comes early looking for a consultation and finds that there is no electricity and work is not proceeding normally. It is worrying, because sick people who need attention arrive here.

— María RegaladoA patient describes the situation at the hospital during the power outage.

María Regalado, one of the patients present, expressed her distress, stating, "One comes early looking for a consultation and finds that there is no electricity and work is not proceeding normally. It is worrying, because sick people who need attention arrive here." José Rafael Hernández criticized the hospital's overall conditions, lamenting a lack of doctors, cleaning staff, and other essential services, and questioned why no one was addressing the issues.

There is a lack of everything here. There are doctors, cleaning staff, and other services missing. All this is happening and no one is taking responsibility.

— José Rafael HernándezA patient criticizes the general state of the hospital and the lack of services.

Miguel Antonio Paulino, who traveled from the Chacuey community, felt abandoned by the deficiencies affecting the main hospital in this border province. "We are helpless. We have no senator, governor, or deputies here to face this situation. This border has been ruined," he stated indignantly.

Attempts by journalists to obtain an official explanation from the hospital director regarding the cause of the blackout, affected areas, and patient care measures were unsuccessful. The lack of response from institutional authorities exacerbates worries, as power failures in healthcare facilities can compromise patient care, medical equipment functionality, and the preservation of temperature-sensitive medications.

We are helpless. We have no senator, governor, or deputies here to face this situation. This border has been ruined.

— Miguel Antonio PaulinoA patient expresses frustration with the hospital's conditions and the lack of political representation addressing the issues.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Diario Libre in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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