HOSPITAL ISSUES STATEMENT ON NICOLE GRAY SITUATION Last December, Nicole Gray was involved in a motor vehicle accident that left her critically ill. After she was stabilized by the excellent medical and nursing team at Cheshire Hall, she was transferred to an Intensive Care Unit in Jamaica. Two months later, in February 2014, she returned to Cheshire Hall, where her condition was such that she still required continuing inpatient care. With significant medical intervention thereafter, her tracheostomy was eventually removed and she was able to breathe on her own. She received all necessary treatment and care ordered by her medical team and her physical therapy was optimized; however, as is common with significant head trauma, full recovery can often be limited. When Nicole’s condition stabilized and her physicians determined she no longer required care in an acute-care hospital environment, preparations were made to return her home, where she could be effectively cared for and supported by her loved ones. Every attempt was made to work in partnership with the family to facilitate this return home, and we collaborated with the Ministry of Health and the Social Welfare Department who also supported this effort. This included the hospital undertaking the training of a care assistant, providing a hospital-grade pressure-relieving loaner mattress for Nicole’s bed (which is still in the family’s possession) and liaising with the Ministry of Health to support an air mattress purchase. This was all done to facilitate Nicole’s discharge home in Provo (where she has a young child), but to no avail. Thereafter, a recommendation was made for long-term care support in Grand Turk, in the Special Needs block of the Wellness Centre, but her family refused that option as well. Our main concern is, and has always been, to ensure Nicole is cared for in the environment most appropriate to meet her physical, social and emotional needs. Nicole no longer required acute hospitalization, yet she continued to remain in a hospital bed and receive care for five more months after being discharged by her doctors. The Hospital feels that limited healthcare resources should be available for those island citizens whose medical conditions may require secondary, acute-level care that can only be provided in a Hospital setting. Nicole returned to Jamaica on 24th October for an acute neurological evaluation, a service not available in TCI. When she was ready to leave Jamaica, her medical team there stated she required intensive inpatient rehabilitation services. As this is not a service presently available anywhere within the Turks and Caicos Islands, it would have been inappropriate to accept her return to the hospital, since the services her Jamaican medical team stated she needed, are not available here. We have always had Nicole’s best interests at heart and we remain hopeful that she will continue her recovery in the most appropriate place to maximize her health potential.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 22:26:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015