Bellevue CEO calls for compassion after daughter allegedly told to ‘wheel yourself’ at UHWI

Bellevue Hospital Chief Executive Officer Suzette Buchanan is calling for greater accountability and compassion in Jamaica’s healthcare sector after an incident involving her daughter at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) in St Andrew. Buchanan, speaking exclusively to the Jamaica Observer, said her 32-year-old daughter, Toni-Ann Kirlew, who is visiting Jamaica from Australia, became acutely unwell and was taken to UHWI’s Emergency Department last Monday. Kirlew, who lives with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune-related conditions affecting her muscles and joints, had been experiencing severe pain, inflammation and stiffness as well as difficulty swallowing, eating and taking oral medication.

“She was physically struggling,” Buchanan said. After spending approximately 13 hours at the hospital, arriving about 8:30 am and leaving around 9:30 pm, Kirlew remained in significant pain and had spent virtually the entire day in a wheelchair, according to Buchanan. As they were preparing to leave, the situation took a distressing turn, she said.

The Bellevue CEO said her vehicle was parked some distance from the hospital, so she relocated the wheelchair-bound Kirlew near the triage desk while she went to retrieve the car. She said she was also concerned about leaving Kirlew near other patients who were coughing as her daughter is immunocompromised. According to Buchanan, while she was away, an emergency room technician returned to the triage area and told Kirlew that she could not remain there.

She said her daughter did not resist the instruction but instead asked the technician to assist her in moving the wheelchair. In response, the technician allegedly told Kirlew to “wheel yourself” while placing her hands on the wheels. Kirlew then attempted to move herself but struggled because of the pain and stiffness in her hands and joints, Buchanan said.

She added that a security officer from KingAlarm eventually noticed what was happening and came over to assist her daughter. “Toni-Ann was not refusing to move. There is an enormous difference between those two things,” Buchanan said.

She stressed that she understood the technician's position that Kirlew could not remain beside the triage desk. “The emergency room technician may have been entirely correct that Toni-Ann could not remain beside the triage desk.