The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A 69-year-old stroke patient has accused Princess Margaret Hospital staff of neglecting, humiliating and restraining him to his wheelchair during a four-day stay, raising concerns about patient care, overcrowding and deteriorating conditions at the country’s main public hospital.

The man has filed an official complaint and PMH is looking into the matter, according to PHA Managing Director Dr Aubynette Rolle.

The patient, who requested anonymity, told The Tribune he was taken to PMH after suffering a stroke on Election Day, but claimed the care he received deepened the trauma of his illness and left him fearful of returning to the hospital.

At one stage, he claims he was restrained by both his ankles and wrists.

His lifelong friend, Gregory Benjamin, claimed the ordeal began when hospital staff repeatedly entered the patient’s personal information incorrectly into the registration system, leaving relatives unable to locate him for several hours despite knowing he had been taken to PMH.

The patient said staff incorrectly registered him after assuming he had two surnames. Mr Benjamin said staff members were dismissive when relatives questioned the error.

The patient alleged that he remained in the hospital’s observation unit for about four days before a bed became available. During that time, he said staff ignored repeated requests to help him use the bathroom despite his limited mobility after the stroke.

The patient also alleged that staff labelled him "combative" after he tried to leave a urine-soaked wheelchair to use the bathroom. He said he was then physically restrained.

"I was trying to get out of the wheelchair because I was embarrassed,” he said. “So, the security, or whoever the orderly is, proceeded to put the straps around my ankle so I was stuck in the wheelchair."

He claimed hthe restraints bruised his wrists and caused significant pain.

"I wasn't being belligerent, or anything,” he said. “I was calm. 'Miss, can I use the bathroom? I have to use the bathroom,' and they were kind of ignoring me, and I had to pee, so that was humiliating too."

After he was eventually transferred to a ward, he said conditions worsened. He said he was forced to use another patient’s urinal after his own fell to the floor because no one came quickly enough to help him.

"I didn't want to pee up myself again," he said. "Another patient, they got a little flimsy blanket, you gotta throw it over your head and pee in the urinal. Then the urinal wasn't empty."

He said he accidentally spilled urine because the stroke had affected the use of one of his hands. He alleged that when he told a nurse, she responded dismissively.

He said: "I tell the nurse, I say, 'Miss, I spill it,' and she tell me, 'What do you want me to do about that?'"

The patient said he eventually found disposable pads himself and used them to clean the area because no one came to help.

Mr Benjamin described the incident as "inhumane treatment", saying forcing a patient to use another person’s urinal exposed both patients to possible cross-contamination and stripped his friend of dignity.

The patient also alleged that staff labelled him "combative" after he tried to leave a urine-soaked wheelchair to use the bathroom. He said he was then physically restrained.

"I was trying to get out of the wheelchair because I was embarrassed,” he said. “So, the security, or whoever the orderly is, proceeded to put the straps around my ankle so I was stuck in the wheelchair."

He claimed he was restrained at both his wrists and ankles, adding that the restraints bruised his wrists and caused significant pain.

"I feel like a little boy who pee up himseff," he said.

Mr Benjamin described the restraints as "draconian, unwarranted and torturous", saying they left visible bruises while the patient was already suffering the effects of a stroke.

The patient also alleged unsafe and unsanitary conditions throughout the hospital. He said the first wheelchair he was placed in felt damp and smelled as though it had been soiled by another patient.

He said many wheelchairs appeared worn and poorly maintained and claimed he heard nurses discussing equipment shortages.

He also questioned the reliability of some medical equipment, alleging that an intravenous drip and pulse oximeter intermittently malfunctioned while in use. He described ageing infrastructure, worn flooring and poor sanitary conditions throughout the facility.

The patient also criticised the food, saying no accommodation was made after he told staff he was a vegetarian.

"They don't even know what vegetarian is," he said. "The grits full of grease and cold."

He also complained that patients were given only thin blankets despite cold temperatures in the wards.

He said the emotional toll has lingered since his discharge.

"I have never been so humiliated in my life," he said. "I suffered from.post-traumatic stress syndrome."

Mr Benjamin said his friend’s experience reflects wider failures in the public healthcare system.

"There is a serious and urgent problem facing the healthcare system in The Bahamas, and it is rightfully viewed as rudderless and out of control," he said.

He believes cosmetic improvements to PMH would not fix chronic problems with staffing, patient care and equipment and questioned why more meaningful reforms have not followed years of public complaints.

"The details of my friend's tragic experience at the PMH should infuriate every citizen of The Bahamas," he said.

"There is a national emergency. Too serious to ignore and demands the sense of urgency it deserves."

Asked about the allegations on Friday, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said the ministry investigates every complaint it receives about the public healthcare system.

"We have positive support, we have excellent reports, and we also have complaints," he said, adding that all complaints go through a formal investigative process before corrective action is taken.