By Mercedes Lopes
I am writing to formally express my concerns regarding an incident that occurred during my stay at the St. Maarten Medical Center in early June, following a medical transfer from St. Eustatius. While I am grateful for the medical care I received, certain aspects of my experience were deeply distressing and have raised serious concerns about patient safety and overall hospital conditions.
Upon my arrival, I was placed in a room with another patient who I immediately noticed exhibited signs of mental instability. From the start, I felt extremely uncomfortable sharing a space with him. On multiple occasions, this individual stood by my bed, exposed himself, and urinated near my bedside. When I called the nurse, he repeated the act on the other side of my bed as they turned off. This behavior was alarming and should have raised red flags about the safety of placing such a patient in a shared room. I had sleepless nights because I was uncomfortable closing my eyes with this other patient in the room.
The situation escalated one night after my surgery. While I was sleeping, the same patient physically assaulted me by striking me in the face. Immediately afterward, he began choking me with significant force. I was weak and still recovering from my operation, and it took everything I had to defend myself. He tried to wrap a cord around my neck, and although I attempted to call for help, I couldn’t reach the bell. Eventually, I managed to overpower him by twisting his arm behind his back, causing him to cry out, which finally alerted the nurses. It was only after this dangerous altercation that the patient was removed from my room. I reported the incident, and two police officers came, asked a few questions, and acted as though it were a routine situation. After the mental patient was removed, they brought an elderly lady to share the room. I felt chills, thinking that if she had been placed in the room with that patient, he might have killed her. Every time I think about this incident, I am traumatized all over again. It felt like a terrible nightmare. Several days later, this same individual returned, standing at the door of my room, glaring at me in a threatening manner.
I would also like to address the unhygienic conditions of the bathroom facilities during my stay. I had an open wound and refused to bathe in the bathroom because it was covered in mold, which I have documented with photographs.
In conclusion, I must ask: how can a patient in recovery be placed in the same room as someone with clear mental health issues? If I had been any weaker, I am convinced that this man could have seriously harmed or even killed me. And I guess my cause of death would have been because of my wounds. I later learned that this individual has been in the hospital for nearly three years. I also heard nurses were harmed by this same individual. Why, then, was I—a patient from St. Eustatius—put in a room with him? Why are we, as patients from St, Eustatius, treated in this manner?
Before the transition to the current system, I had additional insurance that allowed me to stay in a private room, ensuring a safer and more comfortable recovery. Now, we are being sent to a hospital where basic safety and cleanliness standards are severely lacking. Although I am grateful for the professionalism and care provided by the doctors who treated me, the overall hospital experience was far from acceptable.
I hope that this complaint is taken seriously, and that immediate action is taken to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. I could have been an elderly patient.
Patient safety and dignity should always be a priority. Why are we sent to this bad environment as sick patients. This situation happened and we continued life as usual while I as a patient almost lost my life.
Mercedes Lopes is lid van de Eilandsraad van Sint Eustatius. Zij schreef bovenstaande bijdrage aan de vooravond van het debat dat de Tweede Kamercommissie voor Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport woensdag heeft met staatssecretaris Vincent Karremans.