“New” hospital suspends surgeries due to lack of air conditioning

2023-06-20 01:00:18

The hospital has 120 census beds and was only opened in 2018.
According to the Ministry of Health, there is a deficit of 200,000 doctors in Mexico, of which at least 77,000 are specialists.
The hospital is located on the beach and due to the lack of air conditioning, it cannot provide the basic minimum care to hospitalized patients after an operation.

Heat waves have taken over most of the national territory. At least 12 states have registered temperatures above 45ºC and the worst thing is that the situation will continue for the next few days. With this in mind, a story involving the Mexican healthcare field has filled the entire union with outrage. It’s about a hospital with very few years of life but that already presents failures in its air conditioning and supplies.

In this sense, to build hospitals it is not enough to have the desire. In fact they exist Official Mexican Standards (NOM) that clearly contain the requirements that must be met. In addition, its equipment is essential for it to really work as planned.

Hospital without air conditioning suspends all its surgeries

Now is the time to talk about a specific case that summarizes the true state of the Mexican health system. Its about General Hospital of “El Quemado” located in Acapulco and which depends on the Ministry of Health (SSa).

Its history is quite recent because it was inaugurated in 2018. It has 120 census beds and was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. At least that’s how it happened at the beginning because today, five years away, his present is full of failures and disappointments.

A portal report Animal Político announced that the hospital lacks air conditioning and basic supplies. In these times of extreme heat, this is a serious problem and it has already had a consequence.

The authorities disclosed the temporary suspension of all surgeries that were scheduled. According to the workers, basic minimum care cannot be provided to hospitalized patients after an intervention.

#The most read | Surgeries at the General Hospital of “El Quemado”, in #AcapulcoGuerrero, are suspended due to lack of medical supplies such as anesthetics and air conditioning in operating rooms.

– Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) June 18, 2023

Based on the hospital authorities daily between 15 and 20 surgeries were carried out in the operating rooms. Although now all have been suspended and there is no tentative date for them to be resumed.

Among the biggest inconveniences due to this air conditioning failure, it stands out that it is not an old hospital, but rather a new one. So soon after its inauguration, it should not have this type of failure, especially if one takes into account that it is located on the beach.

State of the hospital infrastructure in Mexico

In this same vein, for decades the health field was forgotten in Mexico and today the consequences can be seen. Only at the beginning of the current administration, more than 250 abandoned hospital works were reported. While others were completed but never equipped, which in the end makes it clear that not everything that starts is completed in its entirety.

In turn, the inconvenience can not only be seen in the hospital infrastructure but also in the few personnel that are available to care for the entire population. To date, it is estimated that there is a deficit of at least 200,000 doctors, of which 70,000 are specialists.

Also read:

History and characteristics of the General Hospital of Mexico: 118 years of caring for patients

Graphic of the day: Current state of hospital infrastructure in Mexico

Heat waves: Doctors publish protection recommendations