Is it Health system failure? Another life lost

As the health fraternity in Grenada and the Stewart family of Archibald Avenue in St. George’s continue to grapple with last Wednesday’s tragic news of the sudden death of a staffer and loved one, many are asking whether or not our health system has once again failed to deliver on its mandate to save lives, or was it pure negligence on the part of a doctor whose decision it was to send the patient home after assessing her situation.
Cindy Stewart, a former employee of the Ministry of Health, was pronounced dead by medical officials in the emergency department of the General Hospital last Wednesday, within an hour of her arrival, her second visit in two days.
According to information reaching the Grenada Informer, news of Stewart’s death hit the medical fraternity and family members less than forty-eight hours after she was denied sick leave, by a doctor at the very same hospital, sent back out on account that she was able to work, when according to our information, one of the reasons for her visiting the doctor in the first instance, was as a result of difficulties breathing. She was later diagnosed as having fluid in her lungs.
While the full details of what transpired at the General Hospital on Monday may never be revealed, given the tight-lipped style of operation that presently exists within the public sector, hospital operation being one of them, sources told our news desk, based on Miss Stewart’s medical prognosis, the normal course of action would have been to have her warded and monitored for at least twenty-four hours.
Why Stewart was sent home is anyone’s guess, including the doctor whose decision might have been based on his assessment of the situation, however, sources close to Stewart confirm that the decision taken did not take into consideration the patient’s wellbeing and the way she was feeling at the time.
It was clear the individual said, that Cindy had not fully recovered from whatever got her into the emergency department on Monday in the first place, hence the reason the individual said, those moments after she got home, she made it clear that she had requested a sick leave based on the way she was feeling about her ability to return to work, but that request we were told, was denied by the doctor who treated her, on the basis that she was fit to work. Cindy was instead given an appointment to see a specialist at the General Hospital in ten days which should have been Wednesday, October 12th. She died hours after being given the appointment.
The big question is, therefore, was it a lack of sound medical judgment on the part of the doctor, or was it negligence, it’s anyone’s guess. What is certain, in Grenada and especially in the medical field, no one is made to answer or is held accountable, even when lives are lost.
The informer was told that it was while at work on Tuesday that Cindy took in sick and had to return home. The situation took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, and the family was forced to call the ambulance, which we were told, was another big stone in and of itself, as the ambulance, sources said, took well over an hour to respond. The issue they claimed, was staffing, being unable to find a nurse to accompany the ambulance driver.
The Ministry of Health, through its Public Relations Department, issued a release, affirming their sadness at Cindy’s sudden passing, someone who gave seventeen years of service to the ministry, she was referred to as someone who demonstrated genuine love for customers, co-workers and friends, and would be greatly missed.
Assuming the content of the release was genuine, one family member said, and Cindy was that loving and caring member of staff, why then was she treated in that manner, how could a shortage of staff for the ambulance to reach her in the time of her greatest need, then become an issue. One had to assume that there were members of staff at the emergency department who knew that Cindy had been there on Monday, and therefore, the fact that she was clamouring to get back to the emergency department, should have raised a red flag, spurred some level of urgency, and it is sad this was not the case.
Inside sources told the Grenada Informer that while several individuals are seriously upset with the way the situation was handled, many are reluctant to come forward and join the numbers that are now calling for a total revamping of the Grenada health system.
Meanwhile, today it is Cindy, and tomorrow could be anyone of us, it is high time for those in authority to move to curtail this trend and allow the chips to fall where they may, someone must be held accountable for this level of inept behaviour. It should not be another slap on the wrist, but a call for action, and a full investigation into Cindy’s death, enough is enough.