Medical care in a crisis situation

Teresa, one of the women in the community that we work in approached me and told me that her mother was "very ill".  I had been looking in on Teresa and her mom for quite some time.  She had diabetes and high blood pressure, both of which were not controlled well with medicine.  She had been in and out of the hospital often over the last year.  Teresa told me that her mom was vomiting blood, that she was not responding when they talked to her, and was lying listless in bed.  I told her that she needed to call the ambulance services immediately and take her to the hospital!  Teresa looked at me with a resigned look on her face which showed me she was ready to accept the inevitable.  Her mother was going to die.  Teresa looked at me and told me the Intensive Care Units in the hospital were closed - they wouldn't be able to take her anyway.

My eyes got big, and I shook my head in complete sorrow!  Having just lost my own mother over a year ago, I knew the anguish she was going through.  The next day I read the paper, and this is what I saw:

Sin fondos para abrir sala de ciudados intensivos (There are no funds to open the intensive care units)

This was the headline in the local paper.  The ICU's were closed due to lack of funds.  I read on.  

"Lamentables condiciones" (deplorable conditions) was the heading of the next section.

“En la sala de emergencia hemos notado que por horas queda manchado el suelo con sangre cuando es ingresado un paciente herido debido a la falta de personal de limpieza”, expresó. “El olor que queda en la sala es insoportable para los que tenemos que esperar por nuestros familiares”.

("In the emergency room we have noticed that for hours the floor is soiled with blood from a patient admitted with a severe wound due to lack of staff to clean it," he said. "The smell that is in the room is unbearable for those who have to wait for our family".)

Isidro Menjívar indicó que tuvo que sacar a su esposa del área de maternidad porque no soportaban los zancudos debido al estancamiento del agua cuando llueve. “Preferimos que se terminara de recuperar en la casa porque había muchos mosquitos. Temíamos que pudiera contraer una enfermedad si se quedaba aquí”, comentó. 

(Isidro Menjívar said that he had to remove his wife from maternity because they endured mosquitoes due to the stagnation of the water when it rains. "We prefer that she would recover in our home because there were many mosquitoes. We were afraid we could contract a disease if she stayed here,"he said.

Los pacientes siguen enfrentándose a la escasez de materiales para las cirugías, como jeringas, guantes, esparadrapo e incluso ropa para ser operados. Adquirirlos es un gasto para ellos y en muchas ocasiones no los pueden comprar. Las batas quirúrgicas tienen un precio de 300 lempiras cada una y el set de quirófano desechable asciende a 1,700 lempiras.  

(Patients continue to face a shortage of materials for surgeries, such as syringes, gloves, tape and even surgical clothing. Acquiring them is an expense for the patients and many cannot buy them. Surgical gowns are priced at 300 lempiras ($15) and a set of disposable surgical equipment is 1,700 lempiras ($85). The average Honduran makes about $15.00 a day.

Don Gerardo Alfredo Matute también ha tenido que incurrir en gastos desde que su esposa fue llevada a la sala de labor y parto. “Desde que se internó hemos gastado unos 1,500 lempiras porque en el hospital no tienen nada”, se quejó.  

(Don Gerardo Alfredo Matute has also had to incur expenses since his wife was taken to the labor and delivery room. "Since she was admitted we have spent some 1,500 lempiras because at the hospital they have nothing" ($75).

“Las cerámicas están quebradas, las paredes siguen sucias, cuando llueve hay goteras por doquier y se nos dice que no hay presupuesto para reparar estas deficiencias”, dijo Victoria Vásquez, secretaria general del Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Salud (Sitrasa). El cielo raso sobre el pasillo que lleva a las salas de cirugía, maternidad y ginecología está deteriorado. 

("Tile is broken, the walls are dirty, and when it rains there are leaks everywhere and we are told there is no budget to repair these deficiencies", said Victoria Vasquez, general Secretary of the Trade Union of health workers (Sitrasa). The ceiling of the corridor that leads to the surgery rooms, maternity and gynaecology are deteriorated.")

“La salud de los pacientes peligra porque, en lugar de estar protegidos, en el moho se pueden almacenar bacterias que les podrían causar más enfermedades”, indicó.  

("The health of patients are at risk because, instead of being protected, there is mildew and bacteria which could cause more diseases," he said.)

I can't make this stuff up! This is real, and is happening NOW all across the country, and specifically in our little town of La Ceiba, Honduras. This makes what we do even MORE important! We are providing basic health care, preventative medicine, and patient education to the severe poor of the city.