THE REPORTER
Sunday, December 9th, 2018
Page 11
SRH Admin to Meet with SWU Over Alleged Negligent Deaths Tuesday, December 4, 2018
By Benjamin Flowers
T
he Administrator of the Southern Regional Hospital (SRH) has agreed to meet with the Southern Workers Union to discuss increased complaints that the care given by the SRH is resulting in patient death or additional suffering. Hospital Admin Ernestina Hill agreed to meet with the SWU sometime this week, following a letter sent by the union on November 29, requesting a meeting to discuss the tragic demise of Jayiesha Parchue, Elroy Flores, and Heston Bregal which happened in October and November respectively. The SWU also addressed the meeting request to Minister of Health, Pablo
Marin, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ramon Figueroa, and Area Representative Frank Mena. The SWU’s contention is that both Parchue and Flores are dead after decisions made by SRH personnel that could have been handled d i f f e r e n t l y. P a r chue’s family said that she went to the SRH complaining of pain in early October and the staff gave her two bags of drips and then sent her home without any further diagnosis. Parchue died on October 7 at the SRH, while awaiting to do an X-ray in preparat i o n f o r a s u rg e r y after her condition worsened and the proper checks revealed that she was
critically ill. The SWU said that In November, Flores reportedly went seeking treatment at the SRH, to be told that he was well enough to leave the hospital only to fall down dead hours later. The SWU said that Bregal was reportedly discharged while his condition was deteriorating to the point where he had lost the ability to walk and was repeatedly urinating on himself. He died at his home days later. The SWU added that an elderly patient also reportedly received medication that caused a reaction that brought her close to losing her life. “The question is, are we the poor people of the South children of a lesser God? Many of our people
SWU calling for change at the SRH have become another statistic at the Southern Regional Hospital. We the People of the South are calling on GOB and the Ministry of Health to please listen to the lamentation of
your people that the continued indignities and injustice being afflicted on the young and old...” the SWU said. In November the SWU held a peaceful protest outside
the SRH, to express their discontent with the ongoing situation there, and decided to request the formal meeting when it did not garner the results for which they had initially hoped.