Est.2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Banner promoting anonymous crime reporting with a phone and contact number 1 800 TIPS (8477), featuring the Crime Stoppers logo and a QR code for submitting tips.

Doctors at St Philip Geriatric Hospital and QEH Bungle Diagnosis and a Son is Left to Mourn the Death of His Father

← Back

Your message to the BLOGMASTER was sent

CONTACT THE BLOGMASTER ONLY

Submitted by David Weekes
Why no x-ray?
Why was no x-ray ordered?

This is a very emotional issue for me so I will try to keep focused while making this submission.

Three months ago my father, the late Samuel Weekes sustained and injury while he was at the St Philip Geriatric Hospital.

Daddy was injured on the 11th of January 2013 and sustained what the attending doctor called “soft tissue damage”.

That Doctor prescribed Panadol, Paracetamol and Voltaren. Five days later, on the 16th of January, Daddy was transferred to the QEH.

Eight days later on the 24th of January, I received a call from the QEH indicating that Daddy actually suffered a fractured hip from his fall on the 11th of January during which time a doctor is prescribing Panadol and Voltaren.

QEH requested me to come and sign consent forms for an operation, which I did the same day.

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

129 responses to “Doctors at St Philip Geriatric Hospital and QEH Bungle Diagnosis and a Son is Left to Mourn the Death of His Father”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @David Weekes

    Condolences from the BU household.

  2. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    Dear David:

    I am sorry to hear about your father’s injury and death.

    I trust that both institutions will all that they can to reduce the incidence of falls.

    However do not torture yourself. Elder care is difficult, complicated and expensive. Many more of us will require such care in the coming years.

    We who are still youngish must do all that we can to remain in good health for as long as possible. We must eat right, and enjoy regular exercise in the sunshine.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Simple Simon

    What are you saying?

    Because elderly care is difficult it excuses bad care as reported by David?

  4. ac Avatar
    ac

    hope you find the answers the that you are seeking. stay strong.

  5. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @David Weekes,

    Condolences to you and your family.

    I hope your search for the truth as to what happened to your Dad is successful.

  6. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Condolences…….David

  7. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    A few years ago, i was visiting Bim and sustained an injury, because it was an accident case i had to be taken to the hospital the doctor diagnosed soft tissue damage, no xray……………….blood pressure was spiking 180, prescribed paracetamol sent me along my way, told me i will suffer extreme pain but it will go away, no big deal, can’t call his name cause he ended up having to issue me a medical report, also told me check my doctor in couple weeks……….4 years later, i still suffer pain and have to be on muscle relaxants, had to have MRI which i refused to do in Bim, thanks to that idiot doctor who did not think it necessary to refer me for an x-ray, i have a spinal injury that causes chronic pain. They diagnose you without the benefit of MRI or X-ray and 9 times out of 10 get it wrong because of arrogance.

  8. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Well Well “They diagnose you without the benefit of MRI or X-ray and 9 times out of 10 get it wrong because of arrogance”

    I doubt the doctors “refuse” to do x-ray’s and MRI’s out of arrogance. I know for certain that they do not get “IT” wrong 9 times out of 10. More likely the doctor are trying to keep costs down. Diagnostic tests consume a lot of staff time/equipment/money, and the taxpayers who fund health care in Barbados do not have an unlimited pot of money.

    In every country of the world x-rays/MRS’s and laboratory tests are “defacto rationed.” even in the U.S where perhaps less “rationing” occurs, still the medical outcomes and life expectancy are actually not any better than that of for example Canada the closest neighbour, which spends considerably less on medical care, and diagnostic tests than the U.S.for about the same outcomes, and a longer. better life expectancy.

    Since every patient who comes through the door cannot get an x-ray or MRI, the medical team using GOOD CLINICAL JUDGEMENT and having taken a GOOD MEDICAL HISTORY from the patient or those accompanying the patient then decides whether or not an x-ray or MRI is necessary.

  9. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @David the blog master “Because elderly care is difficult it excuses bad care as reported by David?”

    No David.

    Every elder deserves excellent care.

  10. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Well Well “blood pressure was spiking 180”

    Blood pressure tends to spike after trauma. A normal physiological response.

  11. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    Note that I did not comment specifically on the care received by the elder Mr. Weekes as I do not have enough information to comment on specifics. For example I do not know the gentleman’s age, if he had other illnessess, whether he was confined to bed and if so for how long etc. And indeed I do not need to know these things, but of course the Weekes family should be provided with a full disclosure by both the St. Phillip District Hospital and the QEH

    After offering my condolence to David. I offered a bid of advice to those of us who are still youngish.

  12. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    In my own life I have seen where aggressive medical interventions did not so much prolong life, or improve the quality of life, but rather prolonged and complicated the process of dying.

    Elder care is real, real complicated.

  13. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    I was under the impression that Barbadian doctors were perfect, did not make mistakes nor was their medical negligence. Where are our lawyers who specialise in medical negligence? Where are the cases coming before the courts? Where are the inquest judgments?

  14. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Hal. Have you any idea how difficult it is to prove med-mal? Have you any idea of the forces arrayed against such a plaintiff and how expensive it is for such a plaintiff? Well let me tell you. Usually the entire staff of the facility (whistleblowers only come along in movies), insurance company with large batteries of lawyers (doctors and facilities DO have med-mal insurance, which includes legal). And on it goes. They can require that you submit yourself to an independent facility for things like MRIs – and have you any idea how much an MRI costs? Also the bar is set VERY high as to burden of proof.

    @David Weekes. Deepest sympathy.

  15. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Amused

    I work with insurance companies every day and know how dishonest they can be. What you are really talking about is the failure of law making. If our politicians know all this then pass laws to get round it.
    Britain is no different, but we can get round it through a number of devices, including no win, no fee defence lawyers.

  16. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    Hal,

    Since you know what I am talking about and have raised the issue of no win no fee, let me discuss this with you fully here and I am prepared to take the time, pro bono publico, to do so.

    First of all, will you agree with me that insurance companies are not necessarily being dishonest? Merely that reputable insurance companies owe a duty both corporately and to the consumer to ensure that “nuisance actions”, which, I regret to say, the majority of claims are, are exposed and denied? Otherwise, the premiums we all pay as consumers are increased? Now, I am not saying that there is not also abuse by insurance companies, because you and I both know that there is. Let us be balanced about this, however.

    The no win no fee. Yes. Better known as contingency. This started in the States, moved to Canada very quickly and now has settled and proliferated in the UK. And what has it spawned:

    • Every time there is an accident involving insurance, either the Police or the towing company or some such party SELLS the information, along with the names and addresses and telephone numbers of the parties involved, to these contingency law firms. Even the health services sell this information. Not for nothing are these PI lawyers known as “ambulance chasers”.
    • The next step is that these law firms canvass the parties and offer to represent them on a no win no fee basis.

    • Next, the insurance companies are involved in endless legal work that, if it costs more than the actual settlement claimed, they will pay out. Remember that this legal exchange, unless proceedings are filed, can go on for six years, until the limitations period has expired.

    • The costs of this are passed on, not only to the parties themselves, but to ALL policy holders and the cost of insurance rises as a result.

    There are cases that can be cited where:

    • A plaintiff claiming to suffer from heart problems so as to avoid service of documents etc., and other medical examination which might upset her, was found to be running and operating, on a daily basis, a debt collection agency.

    • Another where a plaintiff claimed (and had it certified by a tame GP) that she had suffered soft tissue injuries that prevented her from working and earning a living. However, when the insurance company hired private detectives to check it out, this severely injured lady was filmed not only carrying out her gardening work, but effortlessly lifting heavy equipment and bags of grass cuttings.

    • To my mind, however, the best was the lady who stepped back in a clothing store and tripped over a baby and sued the store. It was her own child.

    And these are but three of millions of such claims yearly. To disprove them, the insurance companies have had to employ lawyers and private detectives. A very expensive process that is passed on to the consumers IN GENERAL.

    However, the present case we are discussing is about possible negligence giving rise to a claim of medical malpractice and, let me assure you, medmal is not an area that no win no fee embraces.

    No win no fee embraces primarily matters of soft-tissue injuries that are difficult to disprove, once you find a doctor to certify that you have suffered them. And trust me, the no win no fee lawyers have a battery of doctors on whom they can rely to provide the diagnosis they require – and it is well-nigh impossible to disprove, without hiring an expensive private detective. Therefore, since it will cost more to defend the case than to settle it and the outcome in court is never sure, insurance companies will settle them and pass the costs down the line to all their consumers.

    I also have to ask if you have read the UK press reports on the position taken by former UK AG, Jack Straw, which, unusually, has garnered cross party support, to limit and control these activities? Mr Straw has proved that all Police authorities in the UK sell their accident lists and one of them earns £2 million a year from so doing. I am advised by a UK colleague that the going rate is £120 per name.

    This is not an excuse for insurance companies at all, but merely asking you if you would agree that there are serious abuses by claimants under the no win no fee system.

    I would also note that this contingency system in the States and in Canada allows attorneys to claim one third of any awards, plus their expenses and disbursements, before the client sees a cent of the award. Therefore, on an award for $20,000, the client may only see $6,000. And I did not make that up. This is understandable as awards for legal costs rarely rise above the level of 30% of the real costs involved.

    In the UK, the problem is different. Each year, UK colleges and universities and law schools spew out about 40,000 lawyers. Few can find chambers to take them in, so they resort to personal injury work, where the awards of costs at least provide them an income and there is no such thing as grades of costs like in Canada, where it is typically “partial indemnity” or about 30% of the actual costs. Therefore, whether the insurance company wins or not, they still have to meet 60% of the legal costs and ditto the plaintiff.

    And if you agree with that, would you also agree that the Barbados courts, due largely to judicial and chief justice incompetence, are overcrowded to a mortal degree?

    Please remember that medmal rarely (and then only in slam dunk cases) will be taken on contingency in the US and Canada and NEVER in the UK? The burden of proof is far too high, as, frankly, it should be.

    What I have said is not in any way designed to influence Mr Weekes, for whom I have great regard and sympathy. Merely to set the record straight and I hope that you, Hal, will agree with me on the generalities and realities involved, given your expert knowledge in the field.

  17. ac Avatar
    ac

    this case is a mess the time of the soft tissue accident to the time when the frature hip is diaganosis is also questionable since it could have been that a secondary injury could have occured to the first injury during the patient admittance to QEH .

  18. David Avatar
    David

    @Amused

    Thanks for you intervention of a legal nature as always. It is the very scenario you have outlined which exposes the decay which has taken root in our society. Do you know how many similar cases to David (Weekes) exist in the system? Because of a moribund justice system which interlaces nicely with a society held up by patrimony, nepotism and downright dishonesty help to make pain, as in this case, all the more acute. In fact it makes some question what is the purpose of living. Many more John Citizens need to come out and advocate, the traditional media needs to join the fight. These politicians et al jump on a plane and take their sick ones overseas or pay for premier care at private institutions. Enough is enough!

  19. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Have to agree with David. Too much of this going on for too many years and not limited to the elderly either. When a doctor can tell a dead patient’s daughter that he is not any autopsy and then after complaining to the Coroner, the Coroner can’t make him do it, then like Hal said, something is wrong that legislation ought to address.

  20. bajejun Avatar
    bajejun

    when will we get proper regulatory bodies in this country that we can have some faith in. We harp all the time about the supermarkets, while the Doctors, Police, Lawyers and Insurance comapanies get a free pass

  21. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    @ David Weekes

    My sincerest condolences go out to you and your brother Philip. I know Sam and his other other brothers and it pains me to see what our health system is doing to people, especially old people, in Barbados.

    David[BU] you are so right about it being endemic and that there is a fraternity of dishonest brothers that close ranks and unfair the less fortunate among us.

    When my family emigrated to ** I lost track of the Weekes/Cave siblings. Sam worked at the Advocate and if I recall these many years hence, he was the youngest journeyman they ever had, I think Sam was 18

    As hard as this might be to you son, i would tell you to move on with your life because you do not have the resources to fight this seeming negligence nd this fraternity.

    Do not think that you will get any QCs Shepherd or Andrew Pilgrim’s running to your assistance either, you are not a Garcia, a drug runner, and murdered, to be allotted a house with a respected family and a support system in BIM for the rest of his life.

    I will be gone when the second generation of Garcias become an MP in Barbados, and the sins of the father will be washed clean in the slate of Bajan forgetfulness.

    There is a phenomena in Barbados that is becoming a daily part of our existence David (Weekes), it is called “pasturization”, no. not pasteurization as with the milk, but the process of pro-active categorization of ole pensioners as fodder and thereafter assignment to the category where they are treated like dogs by the various social services to which we have contributed every single month as public servants.

    David W it appears from your meeting note and its many asterices that you as mindful of a lawsuit/defamation charge and you have not used any names of other parties at that meeting. That was a wise thing to do Weeksie because you are not a Caswell Franklyn and you will assuredly suffer the full force of the law.

    I however have a little more latitude young man, so I can be your Titus Andronicus.

    At 81, I think it is the shocking greying/silver hairs that gives people a feeling that I am wise, a foolish thing, to be sure, but they share these things with me that sometimes gives me a “little birdie told me” ability.

    The Doctor who would have so easily, and incorrectly, diagnosed your father with “soft tissue injury”, would probably be Dr. B******. This is not the first time for his misdiagnosis nor is his tyrannical behaviour unknown to the medical authorities in Barbados.

    It is just that the Chief Medical Officer and the others who oversee this law to himself, lack balls, balls to do the right thing son.

    I will share with you a mystery son called life. Here is how it unfolds.

    When we were young, we all were as radical and as devoted to causes, as you seem to be. We did the marches, used silent and overt revolts, wore the afros, did the black power salute or the “love” sign, wore the hippie/black panther colours, the Malcolm X glasses, the whole she-bang.

    Over time what happens is that we either mellow out and tow the line as the system grinds us down to size. Remember Tom Clarke the Celebrated Author? He was a terror in his heyday, “under the Union Jack, have you read any of his novels lately?

    There are few Hal Austin’s or Tom “job” Clarke’s left and people like Caswell, irrespective of his political allegiances, and David [BU] represent the final line of defense, in the sand (s) of time.

    When we close our eyes, and make no bones about it, like Sam Weekes, regardless of all de pompassetting we doing, be we Bush, Fatty Kim, Chavez, Thatcher, we all going home, there will come “a new generation of vipers” that we are a-birthing and nurturing now.

    It is because of our lack of balls to bring fellows like Dr *** and the rest of those doctors who leave gauze in our stomach when they are taking out our appendix or medical scapulae in our bowels which cause us excruciating death, it is because we are failing to do the right thing that Pedro Collins and the Campus Trendz Arsonists are on the increase.

    David, mark my When one of the powers that be suffer a loss, someone higher up in the social ladder than the Chadderton-Shaws at Charles Rowe Bridge in Salters, then, and only then, will this brotherhood stop.

    It may not give you any consolation David (Weekes) that your father is another statistic in this medical negligence arena, and I, having known Sam, Olie, Cave, Winston and Colin give you my sincerest condolences.

    How is Cave, I left for *** and he went to Canada yearssss ago and i never say him since

  22. David Avatar
    David

    You see when we discuss that we are a democracy this is the stuff that a free society is made of. Are we there yet? What are we voting for? What is the vision?

  23. David Weekes Avatar
    David Weekes

    @pieceuhderockyeahright | April 30, 2013 at 10:24 AM |

    My thanks to you for your condolences and to others of the BU family who have taken the time to publicly express their sentiments.

    Uncle Cave is unfortunately in a nursing home in Canada with Alzheimer’s as well. Daddy also had it.

    PUDR, there is a boundary outside which I cannot venture and/or write all matters on this subject or they will sue “that uppity Weekes boy” for talking about the way Sam Weekes was treated in your words “like a dog”

    I am sad that people like Daddy are “fodder” PUDR I had to look up that word.

    I will mention a few of those things that my counsel has advised me that I can mention.

    Issue 1. The first incident occurred when I went to the QEH hospital to sign the consent forms for my father’s operation. The way that the nurse carried me on was to say the least “substandard”.

    I am a Veteran of the USMC and i had just returned from 3 heart interventions at the VA Hospital in Washington. The doctors there have told me to keep away from stressful situations.

    I arrive at the hospital and a nurse starts to show how powerful she is. She brings me a form which says “I David Weekes consent to QEH operating on my hip…” I pointed out that the form is wrong and tell her that I am prepared to change it and initial the change.

    She slams the folder shut and tells me to come back when “I feel like signing the specific form”. She only acceded to my request and change AFTER i had here call the doctor on call.

    The hospital managed to loose Daddy’s body for a few weeks. Their morgue machines broke down over the weekend my Father died and they transferred him to a funeral home. One the Thursday we went for the autopsy they did not know where Daddy was.

    @ROK

    That issue about insisting on a Coroner’s request for PM happened to me as well. Given the circumstances surrounding my Dad’s injury, from the time he was injured on the 11th Jan until I was informed that he had a broken hip on the 24th, I sought to get a PM performed by an “external” examiner.

    That forms part of the reason that it took 3 week to bury my Father.

    I could give you a whole set of details about this sorry incident but legal counsel has advised that I don’t venture too far.

    But when I take a step back and start to compare the professionalism that I get in the US medical system, not the land of my birth, with what happens in our medical care system, we come up short on so many counts.

    (CARICOM case notwithstanding, I am waiting to see if Sir Marston will be making my case one of those that must be shortlisted).

    I ask myself the question why is it that tourists can get shot in Hinks Street, can then be treated like royalty in our health system, airlifted to other health facilities for premiere care and we bajans can get treated like second class citizens tossed and turned like a kite in the wind by our black brothers and sisters.

    Samuel Wilkinson Weekes, I make this promise to you, until life leaves this body, as I have done with CARICOM and my patent, and others of my patents, I will pursue all legal recourse that is open to me

  24. David Weekes Avatar
    David Weekes

    Any QCs among you want to help this black man with a mouth to stand up for his rights? or am I STILL persona non grata for my sin of fighting CARICOM for what is mine?

  25. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Amused,

    You are largely right. The system is abused. But they provide a balance to the almost criminal way in which insurance companies use their massive wallets and the dishonest top law firms they employ.
    In a small jurisdiction like Barbados I am always surprised that lawyers do not combine to offer legal insurance, independent of the commercial firms.
    But Barbadians are not entrepreneurial. I will give two brief examples: some time ago I suggested to some car hire operators that they should self-insure and outlined how they could do it; also visiting Barbados at the same time was a senior insurance manager from Britain and I got him to talk to them. To this day they have not even organised a meeting to my knowledge, even though motor insurers exploit them.
    At another time I suggested to the ZR operators that they too should self-insure, in fact that they should merge with the car hire firms and set up an operation.
    Either open their own garage or enter a contract for car repairs, and re-insure for third party injuries.
    I went in to further details. At the ZR meeting, in an office in the port, one government employee screamed ‘they can’t do that’. He was in shock that someone should suggest cutting out the crooked motor insurance companies.
    Lawyers can organise to defend ordinary Barbadians against negligent doctors, or consumers can set up a Patients Association who should take on class actions against these incompetent doctors.

  26. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    David…………again my deepest condolences, to all of you who recognize the problems among the arrogant doctors in Bim who cost people their lives…….i applaud you.

    Piece…………..there is another doctor at the QEH equally as arrogant, i have also met a really good one, bajan with an African name on another visit with a family member whom he really took care of, it’s just that alot need to remember their oath. “first do no harm”

    Simple Simon……….my story was not quite finished………., this has nothing to do with free medical care,.after waiting a couple weeks for the pain to subside, i visited a private doctor, who forgot to take my blood pressure, gave me the same diagnosis again without benefit of referring me for X-ray or MRI, these scans need referral………he did however refer me to specialist………..the specialist made an on the spot diagnosis again without referral for X-ray or MRI, prescribed some pain killers…..gave me another appointment…….next appointment came, no examination, no referral, until i told him that i am traveling so i will need him to sign documents for MRI,, he then told me i can get it done at QEH to which i said, no thanks, will do it in US thanks very much, remember it’s now a full blown case and I am not just a little pissed……….finally I returned to Bim, and let him know i need a medical report, i was quoted a price of thousands, so here i am paying for a medical report from QEH, a medical report from the second and third doctor and a medical report from the physical therapist………..i let him know his diagnosis was wrong, so in his report he will have to acknowledge such, he already acknowledged it in his referral. Not only are some of the doctors arrogant, even when giving wrong diagnosis, but they are also colluding with the insurance companies to defraud and rob plaintiffs………….so Simon, you can say what you want, but the proof is out there……..

  27. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    Mistakes are made in every profession every part of the World. The Doctors in Barbados do not have a monopoly on mistakes.

    Only recently a friend of mine took ill, his family had no confidence in Bajan Doctors so they flew him out to Florida “where the Good Doctors are” and during surgery something went wrong and he died in less than 48 hours leaving here.

  28. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    My mother-inlaw in her 80s went to the hospital in barbados she was having great difficulty walking, they checked her over and sent her home, a day passed things seemed to be getting worse and they returned to the hospital, her husband was told she had alzheimers and that was causing the problems with her walk , they returned home, now almost bedridden a retired doctor friend came over and yes she did have alzheimers which they have known for years as well as a broken leg. This is the second time they have near ended her life, once they gave her the wrong medicine by mistake and caused her kidneys to stop working, Beware of what you are being given and who is looking after you, dont be afraid to ask questions if they cant answer them get a new doctor.

  29. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    BTW

    The moral of the story is, when your time up it up.

  30. David Avatar
    David

    @David Weekes

    Good luck with your fight. Barbadians tend to be passive on these kinds of issues. Your Dad was an old man BUT a human being who represented all that a paternal figure represents. Feel free to use BU as you see fit in the struggle.

  31. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Carson………..next time you take a fall, just go to the QEH………..

  32. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    A friend of my mother told her that her husband was ill and she took him to the doctor. The doctor told her he had dengue and prescribe medication. He was not getting better so a week later she took him back to the doctor and the doctor gave him more medication. He got worst and she took him to another doctor, some tests were done and he was diagnosed with leptospirosis and was immediately hospitalized. But he was too far gone and passed away. Too many doctors are careless when diagnosing people. When it comes to the elderly they just don’t pay enough attention. When an elderly person falls the first thing you check for are broken bones and that can only be seen by doing the necessary tests. Care for the elderly is callous and medical staff should be held accountable. We need to be a more caring society but all we have are overworked staff with mediocre skills or those who are very skilled will only provide their services if you are willing to pay their exorbitant fees. Most of these doctors were trained at the taxpayers expense and as soon as they finish training they are ready to fleece the very taxpayers who educated them.

  33. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    My sincerest condolences to you David (not BU).

  34. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    Dr Babb

  35. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @David (Not weekes) I read this contribution thoroughly, the comments and was not going to comment, but based on my experience; over sixty years in the health care industry;in Barbados, the U.S (my first job there was as a nurse’s assistant in St. Joseph’s Hospital for chronic diseases, in the Bronx, over eighty years in living, having a mother who died at age ninety six, with my sister and myself taking care of her until her death, working in Canada; Mt. Sinai Hospital in toronto, at the Univrsity Hospital in Jamaicaas well as Hamad Hospital in qstar, in the Middle East, I think I should know a little about hospital care; including care of the elderly. I feel it necessary to preface my contribution so that people know where I am coming from.
    @David Weekes: first of all deepest condolences.
    Take comfort in the words of the bible “…Let not your heart be troubled…, and the words from Khalil Gibran when he wrote in “The Prophet” in answer to a question about death: “When we part from a friend (and I am sure your dad was your friend) we grieve not, for that which we love best in him becomes cleaarer, as the mountain is from the plain”. Your father has gone to a better place and is at peace. We all must make that journey and must be prepared. Grief is the natural consequence of the loss of a loved one; it is to be expected and should be accepted. Now with respect to the unfortunate circumstances; as it has been said by others, it is not easy taking care of the elderly, and It takes a special kind of nurse to undertake this aspect of the profession. I have been very close to nurses, and I know how they feel about the old people. They care about them, and do what they can to make them comfortalbe. At night time becomes one of the most difficult times. Patients have a desire to get out of bed to go to the bathroom-even though they may have on “pampers” and ofgten get up, become disoriented and often fall. With my own mother, more than once I, and my sister have come home to find her on the floor between the bed and the partition. Fortunately she never broke her hip but she has had severe bruises on her head or face. Broken bones are to be expected when persons enter the final decades of their lives. In many instances they are difficult to diagnose and treat, and quite often even with adequate treatment they do not recover.Many persons who lose elder relatives, do not have any understanding of the difficulties of the physician and are quick to blame it on negligence, carelessness, and even as mentioned above to arrogance. But knowing what physicians have to go through on a daily basis, much of these sentiments are definitely misplaced and undeserved. Persons taking care of elderly persons have to be commended because it is not easy. And when Altzheimer’s is an complicating factor..it ent easy. I hope you find the peace and solace you are seeking, but I do not believe it was carelessness or non-caring. No one can be everywhere at the same time. The nurses, the doctors and caaregivers are human beings, they too get tired and have to be given understanding. As I said earlier, if they did not care for their patients they would never take that type of work. It ent easy.

  36. David Avatar
    David

    @Alvin

    Did you read the piece?

    This issue as we understand it has to do with the length of time it took to diagnose the patient – at the both locations.

    There is also the issue whether the late Mr. Weekes fell in the night but was found out the next morning.

  37. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    By the way, many illnesses have preliminary symptoms the can be any, of a number of other illnesses; eg headache, musculosketal pain, painful joints, fever; these symptoms can all be symptomatic of Influenza, dengue, hepatitis, leptospirosis, Dengue, Rheumatoid arthritis, or other autoimmune diseases. So it may not be possible to makethe correct diagnosis made on the initial visit to the doctor..

  38. David Avatar
    David

    In September 2008 BU posted the following blog which highlighted issues at the St. Thomas District Hospital.

    https://bajan.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/what-is-happening-at-st-thomas-district-hospital-dr-estwick/

  39. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    What some people fail to understand is that a doctor, i don’t care how good he thinks he is, cannot just look at you particularly if you have fallen and diagnose or tell you what is wrong inside your body, unless an X-ray or more importantly an MRI scan is performed…………..there is no doctor in the world with X-ray vision, some doctors in Bim are diagnosing people without the benefit of an X-ray or MRI scan resulting in wrong diagnosis and ultimately severe pain and death to the patient………in the mistaken and delusional belief that they know everything because they got a doctor degree…………..

  40. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Should read……………a degree in medicine.

  41. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    For those of you who are experts aka Alvin…Dengue and lepto must be diagnosed after tests are taken. Many doctors are too lazy to draw blood and send off to the lab to be tested. My daughter was very ill and I insisted that she go to the doctor, the only doctor available at 8.30 at night was at Sandy Crest so we went there. Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. The kind Dr. Forde who suspected it was dengue told us that he will call later with the results. He called around midnight to confirm it was dengue to take some panadol and told her to come in next day for another test to make sure it was not haemorrhagic dengue. Doctors can no longer play guessing games with people’s lives.

  42. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Well Well “a doctor, i don’t care how good he thinks he is, cannot just look at you particularly if you have fallen and diagnose or tell you what is wrong inside your body, unless an X-ray or more importantly an MRI scan is performed”

    Dear Well Well: When a doctor does a clinical examination he is not “Just looking at you” He or she is examining you for signs of injury. If you have been injured, very likely there will be signs. Are you bruised? Are you bleeding? Are you disoriented? Is any part of your body swollen? Are you pupils dilated? Are you nauseated? Are you vomitting? Are you pregnant? Have you recently given birth? Have you had surgery lately? Have you had a very heavy period lately? Can you stand? Did you faint? Fall off the bed? out of the chair? Did you fall from 10 feet up on a ladder? etc. et. etc. Is the first time you have fallen? Or have you been falling a lot recently. How is your emotional state? Normal? Different? How?

    The answers to these and other questions provide valuable information to the doctor, and helps him/her decide if lab tests are necessary.

    As I said before there are not enough MRI machines available anywhere to MRI everybody who has fallen.

    I have fallen more than once and after the doctor performed a through clinical examinations and after discussion with them and with my family made decisions NOT to have an MRI.

    Even though MRI and other machines are useful, they can only supplement but not supplant the clinical judgement of an excellent physician.

  43. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/06/many-common-medical-tests-and-treatments-are-unnecessary/index.htm
    “Many common medical tests and treatments are unnecessary” Consumer Reports, June 2012
    Doctors often order tests and recommend drugs or procedures when they shouldn’t—sometimes even when they know they shouldn’t. In fact, nearly half of primary-care physicians say their own patients get too much medical care, according to a survey published in 2011 by researchers at Dartmouth College. And the Congressional Budget Office says that up to 30 percent of the health care in the U.S. is unnecessary.

    All that unneeded care can be hazardous to your health—and your wallet. For example, X-rays and CT scans expose you to potentially cancer-causing radiation, and can lead to follow-up tests and treatment with additional risks. And the costs can be substantial. A 2011 study found that the price tag for 12 commonly overused tests, such as annual electrocardiograms (EKGs) for heart disease and imaging tests for lower-back pain, was about $6.8 billion.

    CT scans and MRIs for headaches

    The problem: Many people want a CT scan or MRI to see if their headache is caused by a brain tumor or other serious illness. And doctors often comply to provide reassurance and to avoid lawsuits. But all that’s usually needed is a careful medical history and neurological exam. Adding a CT scan or MRI rarely helps.

    The risks: Brain scans can reveal things that appear worrisome but aren’t. For example, doctors might mistake a twist in a blood vessel for an aneurysm. Those findings can trigger follow-up tests, and prompt referrals to specialists for expensive consultations. And CT scans of the head can deliver a radiation dose that’s the equivalent of 15 to 300 chest X-rays.

    The costs: A standard brain CT scan costs about $340, and a brain MRI about $660. Referrals to a specialist or subsequent treatment is extra, of course.

    When to consider the tests: They’re often warranted if you have an abnormal result on a neurological exam, or if your doctor can’t diagnose the problem based on your symptoms and medical exam. See a doctor if you have head pain that is sudden or explosive; different from headaches you’ve had in the past; brought on by exertion; or accompanied by fever, a seizure, vomiting, loss of coordination, or a change in vision, speech, or alertness.

  44. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    @David Weekes. Deepest sympathy.

  45. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    @Islandgal

    I have heard very good things about Dr. Forde.

  46. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    Simple Simon | April 30, 2013 at 10:17 PM |
    . Simple Simon | April 30, 2013 at 10:25 PM |
    GOOD POSTS

    islandgal246 | April 30, 2013 at 8:24 PM |
    For those of you who are experts aka Alvin…Dengue and lepto must be diagnosed after tests are taken. NOT TRUE!
    Many doctors are too lazy to draw blood and send off to the lab to be tested.
    THE RESULT OF OVER 90% OF BLOOD TESTS ARE NORMAL!

    Well Well | April 30, 2013 at 8:01 PM |
    What some people fail to understand is that a doctor, i don’t care how good he thinks he is, cannot just look at you particularly if you have fallen and diagnose or tell you what is wrong inside your body, unless an X-ray or more importantly an MRI scan is performed
    BOVINE EXCREMENT. ABSOLUTE EXCREMENT

    ………….. doctors in Bim are diagnosing people without the benefit of an X-ray or MRI scan resulting in wrong diagnosis and ultimately severe pain and death to the patient………
    MRI’S ARE RELATIVELY RECENT AND EXPENSIVE!
    WHAT DID DOCTORS DO BEFORE THEIR ADVENT?

    Alvin Cummins | April 30, 2013 at 7:09 PM |
    it may not be possible to makethe correct diagnosis made on the initial visit to the doctor..
    THIS IS OBVIOUSLY TRUE

    pieceuhderockyeahright | April 30, 2013 at 6:19 PM |
    Dr Babb
    Is dr d babb involved here? If so that is most interesting. And Mr Weekes has a foundation to sue. More later

    islandgal246 | April 30, 2013 at 4:12 PM |
    he was diagnosed with leptospirosis and was immediately hospitalized. But he was too far gone and passed away.

    leptospirosis can be diagnosed clinically

    Carson C. Cadogan | April 30, 2013 at 3:16 PM |
    Mistakes are made in every profession every part of the World. The Doctors in Barbados do not have a monopoly on mistakes.
    Only recently a friend of mine took ill, his family had no confidence in Bajan Doctors so they flew him out to Florida “where the Good Doctors are” and during surgery something went wrong and he died in less than 48 hours leaving here.

    AT LAST YOU HAVE MADE SOME SENSE ON BU
    SOME OF THE VERY WORSE MEDICINE IS PRACTICED IN THE USA
    AND IT DOES NOT SURPRISE ME

  47. David Avatar
    David

    @Doc GP

    Do you know of Dr Babb?

  48. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Simple Simon………..an MRI scan in Bim costs upwards of $5,000, only an idiot would want one who did not have a legitimately injured body, your arguments are no use to people who have died or seriously injured because they were initially misdiagnosed by lazy doctors…………..you continue to reinforce your simple mindedness. Again, a doctor cannot assume to know whats going on in a person’s body without vital tests and scans, if that person is telling him/her the pains and symptoms they are experiencing. The healthcare system in the US and elsewhere is not the greatest in the world, but even they are intelligent enough to know that upon seeing any patient the first thing you do is order tests or scans to determine the source of injury and render a diagnosis. How do you know what organs are damaged inside patient with internal injuries has unless you order a scan?

  49. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    The same goes for patients who have dengue, lepto, etc…………bloods tests are routinely ordered so a diagnosis can be rendered for the unknown………….i certainly hope next time you have to visit a hospital for whatever, you tell them you do not need any tests or scans, just give you an on the spot diagnosis, without any medical investigation so you can go merrily on your way………….the simple mindness of it all.

  50. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    GP…………….you are one doctor i will certainly not visit……….

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading