In light of allegations that octogenarian, Julia Melville was beaten by nurses at the Fort Wellington Hospital, the nurses are fearful after being threatened on two occasions by a relative of the woman.
Officials from the hospital told Stabroek News that around 7:30 pm on Tuesday the relative called the hospital and threatened to kill the nurses. A report was then made at the Fort Wellington Station.
Melville, 86, of No 8 Village, West Coast Berbice was admitted a patient on Wednesday June 25 and relatives had claimed that two nurses had beaten her in the head.
However, Acting Regional Health Officer, Dr Alexander Sinclair had told Stabroek News on Monday that the allegations are totally false.
He had said that, “The only truth about the article is that the woman was a patient at the hospital. She was senile; she fell off the bed and the relatives are aware of it.”
The nurses were also terrified when the relative drove hastily into the compound on Monday evening asking for one of the nurses by her name.
A male nurse was standing at the front door after sending off a maternity patient when the relative arrived.
At first the nurse thought it was an emergency case but when he saw the relative in a rage he became scared.
According to reports, the man told him “goodnight nurse, ah come to find out how [name of nurse] wuking. She is the one who beat my mother and kill her.”
He refused to give out information and by then Dr. Sinclair who was in the compound heard the relative speaking in a raised tone and went to inquire what happened. The relative responded to the doctor, “Don’t bother wid that and left.”
Persons told this newspaper that after the woman’s relative left “calls started coming in to the hospital that we must be careful because he was coming to kill a nurse.”
There are also reports that the relative went to the home of the nurse asking for her and she subsequently went to the station to make a report.
The traumatized nurses are planning to stage a “sick out because our lives are at stake. We plan to do this until our issues are addressed. We need justice!”
Fully conscious
Dr Sinclair had said that contrary to the article, the woman was fully conscious when her children took her out of the hospital without being discharged.
During the night, the woman had refused to take her medication and was sitting up in bed. Nurses had to restrain her but removed it after she was struggling to get it off and her hands became bruised.
They checked her on intervals and up to 3:25 am she was resting comfortably. When they checked again around 4 am, she was on the floor. She was apparently trying to get up and fell.
Relatives took her out of the hospital without being discharged and took her to private doctors and then to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
A CT-scan was subsequently done and it was proven that she had haemorrhaged in the head. She subsequently died.
