Stlucianewsonline.com is reporting that family members of a man who died at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) on Saturday, December 28, have retained the services of lawyer Israel Bruce to enquire into the man’s death.
On Friday December 27, at around 9 pm, Pole Yard resident Arnott Hope, a fisherman, was shot in the groin area while at his home in the West St George community. He was rushed to the MCMH where he underwent surgery and according to a family member, after the surgery, they were told that he was in a stable condition.
However, Hope died the following day and Bruce has been retained as it has been alleged that during the surgery, a pair of forceps was left in Hope’s body and that it may have played a role in his death.
On Tuesday, speaking from outside the mortuary at the MCMH where an autopsy was being carried conducted on the remains of the 58-year-old man, Bruce said the family was struggling to come to terms with the death and he was there to see them through the initial stages.
He said he was not able to comment about the allegation about the pair of forceps.
“The circumstances of the death are being looked at and once we get past the stage of dealing with the body and the family has resolved the issue of laying the remains to rest, if there are other matters to be addressed, we will address them in a timely fashion,” Bruce told reporters outside the morgue.
He added that once they are through the initial phase, the media will be invited to engage him and the family members.
The dead man’s niece, Sandra Forbes, told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday that she was trying to deal with the death. She said she was awaiting the autopsy report and the death certificate, but up to press time, she had not received them.
Reports coming out of the MCMH are that after Hope’s surgery, nurses advised that a pair of forceps was missing and might be inside the patient.
Reports are also that one staff member said that could not possible, but an x-ray the day after the surgery revealed that the forceps were indeed inside the patient.
Hope died before the forceps could be removed.
Queen’s Drive resident Levi Browne, Hope’s brother, described the deceased as a quiet guy who got along with everybody.
He said any time his brother came to Queen’s Drive, he got along well with all the neighbours and it was a regular thing for him to pick breadfruits and distribute them in the area.
“I don’t have no idea why somebody would want to shoot him,” said Browne who added that he saw his brother a few hours before he was shot and only knew what happened when he heard he had died.
“I was hearing that they left something inside him, but I not too sure if it’s rumours,” commented Browne who added that this is his second brother to have died around the Christmas season, as in 2018, his sibling Nathaniel “Bobo” Hope died at the MCMH.
“It feel real, real sad, trust me,” he commented while noting that Hope had no children and lived alone.
Another relative said of Hope, “Is not somebody who does make trouble because everybody else who I tell what happen they say the same thing, everybody surprise.”
When contacted on Thursday, Dr Charles Woods, Medical Director at the MCMH said he was not in a position to comment on the allegation about the forceps, as any response, if there is one, must come from the Ministry of Health. A check at the Ministry revealed that the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Simone Keizer-Beache was on leave. Minister of Health Luke Browne could not be reached for a comment.