Cuba Psyche Hospital Deaths Causes Revealed

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES, Jan. 24 — Negligence and corruption related charges were alleged to be the leading causes in the death last year of 26 patients at the main Havana Psychiatric Hospital revealed the trial that took place between January 17-22, notes the Cuban press on Monday.

Without mentioning the names of those being tried, the news item states that the State prosecutor is seeking prison sentences of 6 to 14 years for those responsible for the deaths, including the director and assistant directors of the different areas of the hospital as well as the main dietician.

The prosecution presented testimony from 70 witnesses and from experts at the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Central Crime Laboratory that revealed how “management did not adopt proper measures to protect the patients from the low temperatures of a cold front on January 9, 2010,”  failing to distribute adequate clothes, sheets and blankets and regroup the patients in the halls with the best conditions.

In one of the demonstrations of misappropriation of funds by management, the prosecutor maintained that the Hospital had been assigned food for 2,458 patients when only 1,484 were present.  That piece of data contradicted the reigning situation of malnutrition, anemia and vitamin deficiencies found among the patients.

The court said that a ruling and sentencing would be forthcoming.