BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FAMILY members of an eight-month-old boy said that the Federation’s Health Service did not work for him and a certain female doctor at the Joseph N France General Hospital should be disciplined for negligence and incompetence.
These are some of the sentiments expressed by the Johnson family of Camps Estate, who is still wetting the proverbial smoldering remains of fury and frustration as eight-month-old Kezarie Johnson is nursing a fractured leg and his mother is suffering from temporary memory loss and pains in her right leg.
According to Michelle Johnson, at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12, while her sister, Trisha Johnson, was on the center of the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Cayon and Fort Streets with her son cradled in her arms, a vehicle struck her on the left side causing her and the toddler to fall on the road and injuring themselves in the process.
“My sister was walking on the right side of Victoria Road heading south towards Fort Street. When she reached the pedestrian crossing by the Shell gas station, the driver of a motor car travelling east along Cayon Street stopped and beckoned her to cross. While on the pedestrian crossing, a gray Chrysler vehicle, with registration number P89 driven by Leroy Powell, owner of Island Purified Water, sped out of Fort Street and struck my sister.
“She had her son in her arms and, after the vehicle struck her, they both fell to the ground. My sister hit her head on the road and her son was flung some distance away from her. According to the driver of the vehicle who stopped for her to cross the road, my sister, who seemed dazed, instinctively got up and lunged towards my nephew and scooped him into her arms from off the ground,” Michelle told SKNVibes.
Speaking with Trisha, who indicated that she could not recollect everything that transpired on that unforgettable Friday, she told this media house that she remembered “Mr. Powell telling me to wait until the ambulance arrive to take me and my baby to the hospital”.
“I shouted, ‘No! You will take us there.’ I then climbed into the vehicle and demanded he drive us to the hospital. I was in pain but my concerns at that time were all about my son, who was crying incessantly” Trisha said.
Recounting what transpired on reaching the hospital, the young mother said when she entered the Accident and Emergency Unit at about 4:45 p.m. she saw a nurse and a female doctor, who was seated on a chair.
“I approached the two women and told them what happened, and the nurse told me to go into the examination room and that she would soon be attending to me and my son. All the while my son was screaming and writhing in pain, yet no one came to us. However, nearly two hours after she came into the room and carried out the documentation process,” Trisha explained.
At that stage of the interview, Trisha was at a loss for words and one of her sisters explained that she has been that way since the accident. Consequently, Michelle decided to give details of what transpired.
She said that the family received word about the accident and they all left for the hospital.
“When we got there we all crowded into the examination room and I went over to the doctor [name provided] and asked her to look at the child who was still writhing in pain. She told me that she could not do that because she was attending to another patient by administering stitches to a wound. We all started to make a lot of noise with the aim of getting attention, but the authorities ordered us out of the room and only the baby’s father was allowed to remain,” she said.
Michelle said she went in search of Dr. Patrick Martin but found his Victoria Road Clinic closed. She then sought Dr. Ian Jacobs at Five Ways in Basseterre but his office too was closed. She however managed to acquire his telephone number from a man who was on the doctor’s premises.
“My cousin called Dr. Jacobs and explained what was happening at the hospital and he subsequently called the hospital. I later learnt she told him that she had already examined the child. During that time, one of my sisters (Deon) approached the nurse to find out what was wrong with my nephew and she said she had already done her part and sat herself down.
“Sometime after nine o’clock, the doctor sent my nephew for an X-ray of his right leg and because of the manner in which he was behaving, we requested a full-body scan but they told us that the person who does that was not around at the time,” Michelle explained.
Michelle further explained that after the doctor checked the results of the X-ray, one of her relatives approached her and was told “nothing is wrong with the child, take the child home”.
“We begged her to take another look because the child was still screaming in agony when we passed him from one person to the next so as to comfort him. We knew that something was wrong…we know this child, he does not cry. I thought something was wrong with his torso and not his leg, and that was the reason she could not have found anything wrong with him. But she said she had already done her diagnosis and would not change it.
“My aunt then suggested we take the child home and pray over him because prayers are powerful. But my cousin said, ‘No, we will wait until 10 o’clock when the shift changes to get some more information.’ I was at the counter, dejected, because I didn’t know what to do for my nephew. However, there was a nurse wearing a brown belt and I begged her to be a mediator for me and to go back to the doctor and tell her that something was wrong with the child. The nurse went, she came back but not with good news. I again pleaded with her to speak to the doctor, but we got the same result,” she said.
Michelle said that despite their pleas for the doctor to have the child remain overnight in the hospital for observation, she remained unmoved and said the child must go home.
She said that the family waited until the shift had changed and they consulted a male doctor.
Trisha’s mother, who decided to further explain what transpired, said, “When the doctor looked at the X-ray, he pointed his finger to the area which he recognised was damaged. He then told the female doctor to take another X-Ray. So they sent for the person responsible for doing that because she had already left for home, but she was on call.”
Trisha’s mother added that after the process was completed, the male doctor called her, the child’s mother and his father and told them that the toddler’s leg was broken.
“The good thing about it was that the broken part was still in place and the doctor put a cast on my grandson’s leg. All the while, the female doctor was there and she witnessed what the male doctor did and she also heard what he said. I believe that she was ashamed to know that another doctor had to come and do what she was incapable of. So she bowed her head, picked up her bag and left the hospital without even apologising to us,” the child’s grandmother said.
In continuation, Michelle said the male doctor advised that the child remain in the hospital for further observation and another female doctor said that she would give him some paramol, “but up to now we are still waiting for them”.
Michelle said after the child was admitted and placed in a room in the company of his father, they had to ask the medical practitioners if they were not attending to the mother who was crying out for pain in her head and also in her right leg.
“They put her in a room and the other female doctor said that she was going to get her some pain killers. We waited for more than an hour for the pain killers. It was about mid-night when they returned and gave her an injection and told her to go home,” Michelle said.
She further stated that the mother did not go home but stayed with her child until 10 o’clock the following morning.
“After collecting my sister and her son from the hospital the following morning, we went by Dr. Laws because we did not figure that we got the best healthcare. Not being a paediatrician, Dr. Laws recommended that we see Dr. Jacobs who was not in office, but came in just for us. Thank God for Dr. Jacobs. He prescribed some medication and has since been calling everyday to check on my nephew,” she said.
She also pointed out that her sister was not properly examined at the hospital and it was Dr. Laws who sent her for an X-ray on Monday (June 15), which results stated that no bones were broken, but the soft tissues in her leg were pounded. Dr. Laws also gave her medication for the pain she still feels in her head.
The Johnsons are displeased with the treatment meted out to their family members and are asking, “How long does one have to wait for emergency service? What is a good time to wait? Isn’t three hours enough? We have waited for five hours and it seems as if some individuals are bent on ensuring that the country’s healthcare is not working.”
Michelle Johnson said the main reason for her family giving details to SKNVibes of what transpired on Friday, June 12, is to sensitise the general public of the female doctor’s behaviour, with the hope that the relevant authorities would put the corrective measures in place.
SKNVibes contacted the Hospital’s Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, for a comment on the Johnsons’ allegations and was told that he was unable to do so at this point. He however stated that “it is customary in any organisation that complaints be referred to the organisation before the press”.
Dr. Wilkinson also declared that he did not receive any complaints concerning the incident and suggested that this media house refer the complainants to the Administration Office of the Joseph N France General Hospital to file a complaint and allow due process.
Minutes before publication of this article, SKNVibes contacted members of the Johnson family who stated they were unaware that complaints had to be lodged at the Administration Office and are now adamant to do so.
“We did not know that we had to lodge a complaint to the Administration Office, and at this time we will not do so. Apart from the female doctor and the nurse who were on the earlier shift, there were two other doctors and a number of nurses present who have knowledge of what transpired. Therefore, we are certain that the Administration Office is aware of the incident and we do not intend to visit them,” the Johnsons said.
