A luxury country club in Caracas has been repurposed as a field hospital, as UK aid agencies mobilise to address Venezuela’s escalating healthcare crisis. The facility, formerly the private Caracas Country Club, now houses 200 beds and basic surgical units, according to Médecins Sans Frontières, which is coordinating with British NGOs on the ground.
The club’s transformation underscores the severity of the collapse of Venezuela’s public health system. The country has faced chronic shortages of medicines, equipment and electricity for years, but the recent economic turmoil has pushed hospitals to the brink. The makeshift clinic is designed to treat patients with chronic conditions, infections and trauma, who would otherwise be turned away from overwhelmed state facilities.
UK aid agencies, including the British Red Cross and Oxfam, have dispatched medical supplies and water purification kits. A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed a £2 million emergency package, channelled through the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, to support the initiative. “This is a temporary but necessary measure,” the spokesperson said.
Venezuela’s health ministry has not officially commented on the club’s conversion, but local officials have welcomed the international response. Dr. Anaís Rivas, a physician volunteering at the site, described conditions as “dire but manageable” with the new equipment. She noted that power outages remain a critical challenge: the club relies on generators, and fuel supplies are uncertain.
The country club, once a symbol of elite leisure, now echoes with the quiet hum of ventilators and the shuffle of medical staff. Patients share wards that previously hosted banquets. For many, the treatment is their first access to healthcare in months.
Analysts see the development as a broader indictment of the Maduro government’s capacity. “The state has outsourced its duty to foreign charities and makeshift facilities,” said Maria Teresa Romero, a political scientist at the Central University of Venezuela. “This is not a sustainable solution.”
UK aid agencies stress that the makeshift hospital is a stopgap. Long-term recovery requires political stability and investment. For now, the country club’s fairways and tennis courts remain empty, their purpose redefined by crisis.
