A grieving family is demanding answers and the release of a post-mortem report following the death of their relative, 62-year-old Michael Neita, at Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, on May 25.
Neita, a tour bus operator from Tucker, Irwin in St James, was reportedly sitting on a chair in the hospital’s waiting area from May 24, when he went there complaining of abdominal pains, up to his death the following day.
Daughter Dacia Chambers told The Sunday Gleaner that after her father initially visited a private doctor, the family took him to the CRH for specialty care as a precautionary measure.
“I told my stepmother to rush him to the CRH, and she got there about 8 p.m. on May 24. They triaged him, and his [blood] pressure was very low and he was still having pain, plus he was in a chair, and they gave him some fluid. In the morning, my stepmother reached out to me to say that they were going to admit my father, and she would get there for the 1 p.m. visiting time,” Chambers recounted.
According to Chambers, the family believed Neita would soon be assigned a bed. However, when her stepmother arrived at the hospital that afternoon, she found him still seated in the waiting area.
Chambers said her father later contacted her directly.
“Later, at about 3 p.m., my father called and said he was still feeling pain, he was sitting in the chair, and he wanted to leave.”
She urged him to remain at the hospital.
“I said, ‘Daddy, don’t leave, the fact that they said they’re going to admit you means that you’re just waiting on a bed,’” Chambers added.
Hours later, the family received devastating news.
“Later, my stepmother got a call to come to the hospital, and they said my father died from [some time after] 6 p.m.”
Following Neita’s death, relatives met with hospital representatives and were reportedly assured that a post-mortem examination would be conducted because he had died less than 24 hours after arriving at the facility.
“The senior medical officer said we will be getting a post-mortem based on the fact that my father died after less than 24 hours in hospital. But a week afterward, my stepmom got a call from the hospital saying we could come and pick up the medical certificate, which stated that he died of a urinary tract infection and a fatal sepsis. At the bottom of the certificate, it stated that no post-mortem was required,” said Chambers.
The decision has left relatives distressed and searching for answers.
“We are all shattered right now, and to compound it by saying that there will be no post-mortem is even worse. We just want a post-mortem to be done as soon as possible, because we are overseas and we now have to plan my father’s funeral, so we need the answers as soon as possible,” Chambers added.
Annmarie Martin, Neita’s sister, said that being told there would be no post-mortem report for her brother has worsened the family’s sense of loss.
“My brother Michael was my heartbeat, and he was the cord that bound the family. I am beyond shocked, and I am truly devasted by this whole situation, especially for the fact that I was not there with him, being overseas, and hearing him groan for pain,” said Martin.
“I spoke with him at 6:16 p.m. on May 25, and his words were, ‘Sis, I am feeling so much pain in my stomach, sis.’ It has put a dent in this entire grieving process, and the fact that we were told there will be no post-mortem has plunged our family into deeper grief,” Martin added.
Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) which has responsibility for the CRH, confirmed that he received a report regarding Neita’s death, but that due care was given to him despite the CRH’s lack of available bed spaces.
“We have a bed-constraint problem, and we have to prioritise patients based on the bed situation, so yes, the gentleman was in a chair. He came into our Trauma One area and was evaluated, they ensured that there was nothing acute [critical], and then he was sitting in one of the more relaxed areas, and then he died there. The document I received did say that,” said Fray.
According to the WRHA’s latest report up to June 10, the CRH – which is the only Type A hospital in western Jamaica – is housing 351 patients, exceeding the 291 beds currently available at the facility. The bed capacity, which formerly stood at 430, was reduced following damage to the hospital’s infrastructure from Hurricane Melissa on October 28 last year.
Additionally, up to June 10, there were 84 patients in the CRH’s Accident and Emergency Department awaiting ward admission, with 62 of those patients having to rest on chairs or recliners.
“From that data, you understand that there is an overwhelming situation where we have a dire need for beds. What we have to do is prioritise, in order to give the best care that we can give,” Fray told The Sunday Gleaner. “We have to use our clinical acumen to give the best care, based on the patient’s situation. Some patients you have to keep there, and some you move out to other hospitals. That is how we have to navigate on a daily basis.”
But while the CRH grapples with bed shortages and evaluating the severity of patients’ cases, Martin grapples with the memory of one of the last conversations she had with her brother.
“About two weeks before this, he was rushed to hospital, and our conversation at that time was about life in general,” said Martin. “We talked about daily events, work, and plans, and I even asked him, ‘When are you coming to spend some time in America with me?’ and he said, ‘Nuh worry your head, man. Soon.’”