princessmargarethospital

Ann Marie Davis on Friday, mourned the death of Kenise Darville, the woman who died days after lamenting her treatment as a patient at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

In a short Facebook post, the wife of Prime Minister Philip Davis expressed shock at the woman’s death.

“Jerad, I am so shocked to hear of Kenise’s passing. I didn’t know she was ill…I’m lost for words.”

Kenise, the wife of Jerad who was a former PLP aspirant for the Pinewood Gardens Constituency, died on Thursday after streaming a live video, venting her frustrations with the country’s primary hospital. She complained that doctors did not treat her condition of low blood platelets as an emergency, as she asked for people to donate blood to her cause.

Davis remembered her as “so young and driven.”

“ I pray you find the faith and strength to deal with this great loss. May she rest in peace among the angels,” Davis said.

Jerad held a press conference on Friday after her death, lamenting the hospital’s neglect in the matter. In a social media post on Saturday, he said “Don’t worry though baby, your cry was heard and the cries of our children shall not be in vain.”

When reporters asked if he plans to take legal action, Jerad responded, “Legal action doesn’t fix the system, right? We have to fix the system for people.”

Kenise leaves behind three boys.

Health Minister Michael Darville promised an investigation into the matter.

Just days after decrying her stay at the Princess Margaret Hospital, a woman died from health complications.

Kenise Darville took to social media last week Wednesday in a more than 20-minute live stream video where she condemned PMH for its quality of healthcare.

The video went viral and blood donations were made to get her back to good health. She was said to be doing well since Tuesday when her husband Jerad posted to social media, “Because of your support we now have the best doctors tending to her. She is in special care and has improved tremendously in her spirits.”

Kenise’s passionate video showed her with tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried, “It [inadequate care] needs to stop. They [hospital staff members] are reckless, nonchalant, no empathy.”

Though details are limited as to the sickness she suffered and how she died, Kenise said she suffered from back pain which prompted her to check into the hospital at 3 am on January 2^nd. Showing blood bruises on her hands, she complained that her blood count was low which doctors confirmed was at 20,000. This prevented her blood from clotting.

Kenise anticipated that doctors would order more platelets as promised but said they later returned on the eleventh suggesting that she seek blood donation from family and friends. At this time, her blood count was at seven thousand.

“These people doing a whole bunch of foolishness,” she said angrily. No hospital is supposed to run like this. PMH needs to be exposed.”

Kenise said had she known earlier, she could have asked family for blood donations a lot sooner.

“They didn’t see the urgency in that. They sit by and let all these days pass. No doctor came to see me on Friday. The weekend is hell. It’s worst on holidays.”

She was soon prompted to stop the ranting and recording by a nurse who stopped by her room where she lay in isolation.

“Miss, at this point, some people just have to go down for a cause and this a course I’m ready to go down for,” she said.

“When will you’ll start caring for people inside this hospital?” she asked the nurse.

The mother of three boys who was also the owner of a creative shop said her mother died weeks earlier and was buried three days prior to her admittance to the hospital.

And though she knew the bad experiences at the medical center, she had no medical insurance to receive private care at Doctor’s Hospital.

“No hospital suppose to run like this. PMH needs to be exposed.

“They [doctors] don’t read your notes and ask what you in here for. It’s ridiculous.

“This entire system just needs to change.”

Veteran journalist and new host of Beyond the Headlines Shenique Miller is accusing the country’s premier health facility of negligence following the death of her sister.

Miller took to social media to blame Princess Margaret Hospital for “poor care” and the “lackluster manner” in which it administered care to Swanson Miller Bridgewater.

Here’s what Miller says happened

On Sunday

• Bridgewater visited PMH late that afternoon, with shortness of breath and weakness.
• She was held in the Accident and Emergency Department where she was given water to drink.

On Monday

• She was given drips since she felt weak and dehydrated.
• A family friend, also an employee at the hospital gave her a cup of water and tea.
• Bridgewater was soon discharged by a nurse.
• She called Miller for assistance, concerned that she was still not feeling well with difficulty breathing.
• Miller called a senior official for help in the matter.
• Bridgewater was still discharged by that night and had difficulty getting from the car to the house.
• The hiplok used for the drip was removed from her arm.

On Tuesday

• She continued to breathe laboriously.
• She became painful.

On Wednesday

• Bridgewater died.

PMH has not responded to the accusations made by Miller.

Doctors are pushing Bahamians to vaccinate as the country’s main hospital is strained. There are no more beds at Princess Margaret Hospital for COVID-19 patients and external coolers are being used to store bodies.

Reporters took a tour of the hospital on Tuesday and saw firsthand the overwhelming demand on the institution as patients crammed every accessible space.

A passionate Dr Raquell Davis-Hall, Consultant in the Accident and Emergency Department minced no words in describing the dire situation.

“We pass the breaking point.”

She said the A&E Department is the only place that can be used for non-COVID patients waiting to be seen by a physician.

“A&E has been stretched out since.

“We are tired.”

Davis-Hall said since her time at PMH, these times have been the worst as patients are dying quicker. This has led her to believe that the Delta variant may be in the country, although this has not been officially verified.

Health officials are awaiting results sent to a lab overseas to determine if the Delta variant is in the country.

“Patients come in at 12 am. They are breathing. In the next two hours, those persons are dead.

“This Delta variant, we have no empirical evidence that it is in the country. But we know it’s here. And this is the worse it’s ever been. From the whole time of the pandemic, since March 2020, people are dying. Young people are dying.

“People pull up at the Critical Care Block, not breathing.”

Davis said the institution has no space for patients sent from the Family Islands.

Reporters were taken outside where COVID-19 patients were also housed in tents donated by the Samaritan Purse.

Nursing Officer Prescola Rolle said all of the tents were full to capacity.

The medical tents can only hold 35 people. Presently 34 COVID-19 patients occupy the tents and only one more bed is available.

Sandilands Rehabilitation Center confirms a woman took her life at the health facility.  The suicide remains under investigation.

What is known

• The woman is 52-years old.
• She was a patient at SRC.
• She attempted suicide on Sunday 8th.
• She was transported to the Princess Margaret Hospital by ambulance.
• The woman was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

What is unknown

• The identity of the woman has not been released.
• A motive is unknown
• Authorities have not revealed how she was discovered, neither the means by which she ended her life.

The sobering comment by Former Health Minister Duane Sands has set off a public debate mixed with fury and uncertainty.

Sands on a local radio station, Guardian Radio, “The Hitback,” with Nahaja Black, said the heightened case of coronavirus in the country has placed doctors in a position to decide who lives and who dies.

The earnest reality of the pandemic has caused doctors to place patients with other life-threatening diseases like heart disease and cancer on the back burner, causing some to die.

With a high degree of certainty, the former minister said, “I understand the implications of my comment…that is happening now.”

Other countries have done the same

Physicians in the United States of America, Canada, and Italy have already been forced to make such moral decisions.

These countries have larger populations and the unexpected wave of the virus has filled their hospitals beyond capacity. Back in early March, Italy’s health system said there were too many patients for each one to receive adequate care. So, the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI)  published guidelines that doctors should follow as cases worsen.

These patients should be left to die as they place demands on scarce medical resources, according to the document written by a group of medical doctors.

• Patients that are old
• Patients with comorbidities
• Patients who require intensive care

They are guided by the utilitarian approach which stresses the principle, “the greatest good for the largest number,” which would ensure that patients with the highest chance of survival will access intensive care.

Doctors in the Bahamas are reaching that point

When health facilities are full to capacity, physicians are placed in a position where they are unable to manage and provide care for a patient who may need respiratory assistance.

Dr. Nikkiah Forbes, director of the Infectious Disease Programme said she has not personally seen a patient die because of the ability to provide care, but the country is close.

“If we continue beyond capacity, those difficult decisions may have to be made,” she said.

Health workers confirmed that the Bahamas is in a surge and the system is being pushed beyond capacity, emphasizing that the ability to provide care in that environment is challenging.

As COVID-19 numbers swell, Minister of Health Renward Wells admitted the shortfall in the healthcare system, exposed by the pandemic.

“Surges in infection particularly expose us to shortfalls of healthcare providers due to illness,” Wells said during his COVID-19 Update Communication in the House of Assembly, on Wednesday.

Last week, numerous pregnant women aired their concerns with the Princess Margaret Hospital, saying they were treated poorly while giving birth, with little attention from nurses.

And since then, two women have died after giving delivering babies at the country’s premier institute.

These cases have raised public alarm.

said the nation’s healthcare personnel are its most valuable resource in combating COVID-19.

How many health workers are impacted by COVID-19?

194 health care workers, inclusive of physicians, nurses, and allied health staff, are unable to deliver care significantly, which is impacting the delivery of care to COVID and non-COVID patients.

How does Wells promise to fill the gap?

Wells said officials are identifying and engaging healthcare providers both within and outside of hospital settings whose workloads have been reduced due to the cancellation of elective procedures, outpatient visits, and the reduction of non-COVID-19 hospitalizations.

“We have also assessed the staff capacity to support the care of critically ill patients, particularly during surges. Trainees, nurses, physicians, technicians, retirees, and other support staff have all been co-opted to fill gaps across the healthcare workforce.

He said his ministry has re-engaged 29 physician senior house officers, who will immediately be added to the medical services capacity. He added that the facility at Breezes is also geared toward alleviating some of these stressors.

The Health Minister said, “We have seen unprecedented cooperation among healthcare workers.

“With the Public Hospitals Authority, Doctors Hospital, and Department of Public Health acute care delivery institutions, staff are working together in a focused, professional and seamless fashion for the best outcome for patients and the good of our Bahamas.”

Nearly twenty people assembled near the front of the Princess Margaret Hospital demanding better treatment and a new facility for patients.

The group gathered, shouting, “Our Lives Matter” with group leaders Kendle Colebrook and Attorney Maria Daxon. They decried the recent deaths of pregnant mothers and newborn babies.

Wearing t-shirts that read, ‘Enough,’ Colebrooke said, “The babies that died in there are our children. They are us, they are us.”

Daxon said, “We came to support the women who died and lost their babies…How many other women are going to die before you spend the taxpayers’ money on a new hospital.”

One woman said as her niece gives birth in a few weeks, she has warned her not to go to PMH.

“I tell her to go private. They killing people in here. You going in here normal, and when you come out, you coming out as COVID.”

The police called to the scene, stood nearby as the small group voiced their concerns.

The group said they lay the blame at the feet of Prime Minister Hubert Minnis and Health Minister Renward Wells.

This comes after a young mother Kayla Edwards-Dean said she was ignored in the hospital and gave birth to twin boys, later learning that the twins died after delivery.

36-year-old Zennrine Ramdas died of womb infection last week, after giving birth to a baby girl in August.

And 20-year-old Shakinah Dean, a confirmed COVID-19 case, died last month after giving birth to a baby boy. Her mom said she did not receive adequate care and was left unattended.

Addressing media on Tuesday morning outside of Cabinet, Wells said he feels a sense of empathy for the mothers.

“Hearing the kind of things that we are hearing in regards to the loss of life, it doesn’t sit well with them, it certainly doesn’t sit well with me and we’re going to do all we can to continue to preserve the life of the Bahamian people.”

Wells said the Public Hospitals Authority is investigating the matter, although no official complaint has been made.

“We have not received any direct complaints, written complaints but the ministry is looking into it,” he said.

The group promised to assemble again on Wednesday.

A man claiming to have survived COVID-19 is singing praises.

Ricardo Mott, also a dialysis patient, says he tested positive for the virus and recovered at Doctor’s Hospital West.

Lying in a bedroom, Mott in a video says  he contracted the virus at the Princess Margaret Hospital while receiving kidney treatment.

After transfer to Doctor’s Hospital West, Mott said he came close to dying of the infectious disease, but he survived.

Here’s his story: