Dear Editor,
I refer to the suicide death of Vinod Balkarran, which took place recently at the Georgetown Hospital. Hospitals are meant to be safe havens for those who are ill, and death by suicide in a hospital environment is a serious affront to a shared expectation of safety. In the legal world courts and juries generally view in-patient units in hospitals as having a greater degree of control over any patient, and by consequence an even greater degree of responsibility in preventing suicide. Because they occur in close proximity to staff in-patient suicides are oftentimes viewed as the most avoidable and preventable.
It is stated in the Stabroek News that the now deceased was experiencing family problems, and was even overheard on Thursday night telling someone to hasten their visit, or else they would regret it. To whom was this information passed? Was it to any member of the nursing team? Prior to him committing suicide, were the staff aware of any change in the patient’s behaviour or verbal utterances? To the best of the staff recall what was his demeanour when last seen by them? How often are patient checks done? It only takes 4 or 5 minutes of adequate pressure on the carotid arteries in a person’s neck to produce death by oxygen deprivation to the brain.
The death of any patient by suicide, although some may say it is of his own doing is nevertheless regrettable and may have been preventable. This should be a wake-up call for the unit and by extension the administration of the public hospital to ensure a safe physical environment that is devoid of any means of committing suicide, even including the installation of suicide proof architecture.
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam
