The waiting and consultation rooms, as well as the beds of the institution, are full, AyiboPost noted during a visit on August 28
The only public hospital still operating in Port-au-Prince is “overwhelmed” by the influx of patients, its executive director, Dr. Paul Junior Fontilus, warns AyiboPost.
The outpatient clinic at Peace University Hospital receives up to 375 patients a day, and the emergency department treats about 80 patients a day, according to Dr. Fontilus.
According to the manager’s estimates, this is an increase of 60% to almost 90% for the outpatient clinic and almost 100% for the emergency room.
The waiting and consultation rooms, as well as the beds of the institution, are full, AyiboPost noted during a visit on August 28.
In some cases, the saturated services of La Paix can no longer receive patients, in a context where the State University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH), the largest hospital center in the country, remains closed due to insecurity since February.
The outpatient clinic of the Peace University Hospital receives up to 375 patients per day, and the emergency services treat approximately 80 patients per day.
– Dr. Paul Junior Fontilus
Kenyan police in Haiti to help restore security speak of ‘significant progress’ two months after landing.
But only 20% of Port-au-Prince’s hospitals are functioning normally, according to an NGO.
Read also: Haiti: Hospitals overwhelmed by events
This situation increases the pressure on La Paix hospital, an institution where 30% of the staff has left the country, according to the manager.
Most staff members work day and night to maintain services.
Katia Duverne, head nurse of the surgical department, complains of the “lack of manpower” compared to the number of hospital patients under her responsibility.
“I only have four nurses for 24 beds, and that is valid for day and night shifts,” she revealed to AyiboPost.
A single nurse takes care of twelve patients per room, the nurse said. A laboratory technician met on site told AyiboPost that he recorded a very high number of samples taken per day. “Patients are often very frustrated by the slowness of the service, but there is nothing we can do about it,” he said.
This situation increases the pressure on La Paix hospital, an institution where 30% of the staff has left the country.
AyiboPost counted about fifteen mobile pharmacies under the sun around the La Paix Hospital. Most of these institutions were previously near the HUEH.
Vendors like Ruben Orevil place the drugs inside private vehicles or vans.
This man, formerly the owner of “Ryan Pharma”, lost everything during attacks by armed gangs on rue Monseigneur Guilloux.
Read also: More than a thousand HIV-positive patients without medication in P-au-P
The crisis in La Paix is taking place in a country ravaged by armed gangs. More than half a million citizens have fled armed violence. Thousands are living in tents in a context where half the country does not have enough to eat. The country requires $674 million in humanitarian aid this year, but only 33% of that amount is available.
At the same time, the number of injured and sick people continues to increase. The reopening of the General Hospital and other private health facilities “remains essential”, comments the director of the La Paix University Hospital, Dr Fontilus.
Cover image: view of the entrance to the La Paix University Hospital in Delmas 33. | © OPS/OMS
Stay in touch with AyiboPost via:
► Our channel Telegram : Click here
► Our Channel WhatsApp : Click here
► Our Community WhatsApp : Click here
A journalist at AyiboPost since March 2023, Duquereste is a graduating student in social communication at the Faculty of Human Sciences (FASCH).