A man was yesterday charged with assaulting a doctor and nurse and behaving disorderly at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre (DDC), after being refused access to see his mother in intensive care.
Trevor Amsterdam, 30, of Lot 34 Norton Street, Bagotstown, appeared before Magistrate Leslie Sobers at the Providence Magistrate’s Court on multiple charges.
But Amsterdam admitted only to resisting arrest by police constable Gopaul Golcharran, for which he was fined $15,000.
He denied allegations that on February 16, at the DDC, he used abusive language and unlawfully assaulted Dr Salina Bender and nurse Rayon Bunyan and that he behaved disorderly.
Attorney Debra Kumar, who represented Amsterdam, said that her client received information about his mother, who was in the Intensive Care Unit but his request to see her was refused.
Magistrate Sobers pointed out that the role of the hospital is to provide not only care but protection for their patients and he suggested that Amsterdam should have cooperated and complied with the regulations of the facility.
Kumar told the court that Amsterdam was unable to see his mother due to the fact that he was in police custody since Saturday.
But when given the opportunity to speak, the doctor and two nurses who were on the shift the night of Amsterdam’s alleged attack said that he did get to see his mother on her hospital bed after he entered the Intensive Care Unit.
Bunyan explained that Amsterdam entered the hospital and started to behave disorderly although there were six persons who were attached to ventilators and he could have presented a risk to their condition.
After hearing the submissions, Amsterdam was released on $150,000 bail for the pending charges and the case was adjourned until April 29 for trial.