Massive Supply Shortage at Guatemala's Main Hospital

Managers of Guatemala's biggest hospital have declared the facility to be in a state of emergency due to a massive supply shortage.

"There are no sutures, bandages, gauze, laboratory tests or X-rays, so we have decided to declare a state of calamity," Roosevelt Hospital's board president Arnoldo Lopez told reporters late Wednesday.

He said doctors were "canceling appointments for new patients, as well as restricting elective surgeries, lab work and outpatient X-rays."

Guatemalan President Otto Perez acknowledged the country was experiencing a crisis in its health system but denied that the Roosevelt was experiencing supply shortages.

He said Health Minister Jorge Villavicencio indicated that the hospital was operating with 72 percent of needed surgical material and 74 percent of drugs.

"The hospital has supplies. We have declared a state of calamity from the beginning, but in our public health system," Perez said.

The Roosevelt serves between 500 and 600 emergency room patients each day, along with 2,000 outpatient visits.