Largest hospital in Haiti’s Artibonite region faces severe staff shortage as doctors flee  

GONAIVES — Hôpital La Providence, the largest healthcare facility in Haiti’s Artibonite department, is barely holding together, doctors and patients say. In the latest major sign of its struggles, 16 of the hospital’s 43 staff doctors have left, leaving the community even more desperate for essential healthcare. 

“Most of our services are non-functional,” Dr. Oriold Noël, the hospital executive director, told local journalists in April. “Surgery, orthopedics services, fuel and even basic utilities like water are unavailable. This makes it nearly impossible to provide the necessary care to our patients.”

Plagued by unrest for decades, Haiti’s healthcare sector faces newer threats as recent turmoil once again tests its ability to provide essential services. Since February, as dozens of gangs reignited unrest, the relentless violence has forced numerous healthcare workers, engineers, professors and other professionals to leave their jobs, and the country in some cases. This exodus has hit Hôpital La Providence hard, causing a persistent personnel shortage and poor infrastructure that have left patients deeply uncertain about their future health prospects.

In April, administrators publicly announced that at Hôpital La Providence, the remaining healthcare personnel are scrambling to tend to the backlog of patients. They called for urgent intervention from the health ministry. 

“Our capacity to provide quality care is severely compromised.” Dr. Oriold Noël, Hôpital La Providence executive director said.

“We are taking all necessary measures to replace the doctors who have left,” Dr. Noël said. “We’re doing what we can with the resources at hand, but we’re also relying on the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) to help us navigate through this crisis.”

Coping with personal shortages and deficiencies

The crisis extended beyond human resources. Essential medical equipment deteriorated with no technicians available to conduct repairs. Imaging devices, critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment, lie in disrepair. The hospital is also grappling with a failing infrastructure and operational budget. The National Directorate of Potable and Drinking Water (DINEPA) has ceased supplying water, citing unpaid bills – a reason the hospital disputes.

“We’re caught in a bureaucratic bind,” Dr. Noël said. “Our operations are crippled by the lack of water, yet we’re unable to resolve the underlying issues with DINEPA.”

As of this writing in June, the hospital still faces the same daunting challenges without improvement. Patients continue to struggle with finding available doctors and accessing necessary care on time.

“Doctors, nurses, engineers and other healthcare personnel have abandoned their posts without notice,” Dr. Excerne Joseph, the medical administrator, said at the time. 

“Our priority is to save lives,” Joseph said. “We have been trying to keep the door open but every day it is a struggle to provide quality care for our patients.” 

Several patients recently visiting the hospital expressed frustration and despair from accessing essential services. Many patients told local radio journalists in April that they had to pay for some of the supplies. 

“We are required to pay a lot of money to fuel the generator of the hospital before they perform surgery,” one patient said.

“It’s agonizing,” said another patient. “We’re paying more and getting less. The hospital should be a sanctuary, but it’s becoming a place of last resort.”

Striving for stability and future hope

Hôpital La Providence has been a staple facility for residents all over the Artibonite region for decades. In 2004, after being struck by Hurricane Jeanne, the hospital was rebuilt with $17 million in funds from the Canadian International Development Agency and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). 

Nestled in Morne Blanc, the facility covers 10,380 square meters and aims to serve the 300,000 residents around the city and the surrounding areas. Inaugurated in August 2014, the facility has a capacity of 200 beds across four hospitalization wings and a surgical wing. It offers maternity services, an intensive care unit for newborns, an emergency department, a laboratory and a pharmacy. 

As Haiti’s political and economic instability deepens, the hospital’s ability to provide care is hanging by a thread, like others are experiencing in the capital. Dr. Noël and his team are determined to fill the gap left by departed healthcare personnel, but their resilience is constantly tested by the overwhelming forces of insecurity and neglect.

Dr. Noël said replacing medical staff is not typically within the hospital’s mandate, nor can they resolve on their own the urgent need to find a long-term solution to provide critical healthcare services. In the meantime, personnel across all care areas and specialities are improvising to maintain a semblance of service, he said. 

Dr. Noël also met recently with UNICEF, which has promised to construct a drinking water system for the hospital.

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Largest hospital in Haiti’s Artibonite region faces severe staff shortage as doctors flee   was first posted on June 25, 2024 at 11:33 am.