The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The subject matter was the headline in The Tribune on Thursday, April 1st, 2021 (Too heavy to fly cost him his life). The article was about Mr Louis Edward Rolle, a 74-year-old man who died in Bimini.

I have known Mr Rolle all of my life and extend condolences to his family and loved ones.

The story covered the circumstances of Mr Rolle’s death and highlighted his size and weight.

It also covered an interview with former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands.

During this interview, Dr Sands adequately explained the problems encountered, including the size of the plane, the width of the door and the operating limits of the aircraft.

He also commented on the offer made to transport Mr Rolle by boat and the reason why it was also not feasible for a ventilator machine to be sent to Bimini in the circumstances.

Without questioning his obvious and most accepted expertise in such matters, my concern is whether or not some modification can be made to these machines, or the local clinical or medical facilities, or local personnel, or accompanying personnel, that would enable temporary remote use. This was obviously a life or death matter.

The pandemic is still not over and because of our geographical structure we may very well encounter additional cases when it would be more feasible to transport the machine rather than the patient. Just my thoughts.

ARNOLD F BAIN Jr

Nassau,

April 1, 2021.