A man in St. Vincent (SVG) who presented at the island’s main health facility in Kingstown with elevated blood pressure said he was told by the doctor to pray and go back to bed if it occurs again before coming to A&E.
Below is Elroy Boucher’s account from last Wednesday.
“I woke up at 2:30 with elevated blood pressure. Decided to seek medical attention at A&E. arrived at 3am. The nurses were fantastic. The doctor was unavailable. I decided to leave at 4:30 having not seen the doctor; in fact, I was told that the doctor was resting”.
“I expressed my displeasure with the poor service given to the Vincentian public (and yes, I am aware of others who spend countless hours at A&E before seeing a doctor)”.
“Just before leaving, the nurse indicated that the doctor was coming. I waited, hoping that I would finally be able to see the doctor. My hopes were dashed when the doctor told me that when I woke up with elevated blood pressure, I should have prayed and gone back to sleep”.
“She continued that if it occurs again, I should again pray and go back to bed; A&E should not have been my first choice” .
“The long and short is that I eventually left at 6 a.m. without being seen by the doctor”.
“When would we see a change in the way the Vincentian public is treated when trying to access emergency care at A&E?”