By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
TOP government health official said the pods used to evacuate suspected COVID-19 patients from Family Islands can only carry people who weigh 270 lbs or less.
The comment comes more than a week after Louis Rolle, a 74-year-old Bimini resident, died after officials declined to airlift him because of his weight.
During a press conference yesterday, Princess Margaret Hospital Administrator Mary Lightbourne-Walker said: “Persons who exceed the weight limit, the pod would not be able to afford the protection of the other persons who would be travelling in that vessel, whether that vessel is a plane or a boat if the pod is not secured based on the programme weight limits.”
Health officials were unable to say what alternatives exist for obese people who get a serious case of the disease. Obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 complications.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said last week’s incident was “unfortunate”.
“It was unfortunate that we were unable to bring the patient out of Bimini due to the weight restriction but certainly it sheds light on the need for us to ensure that given our population, geography, as well as our weight challenges that we have, we are seeking to determine exactly what would be the best way to accommodate a patient that we have in a particular island where we are unable to use the pod that is purchased to bring individuals in from that particular island,” she said.
“It is clear that we have to seek to determine the best way for us to be in a better position to manage persons beyond the weight limit of the pods and certainly all efforts are being put forward to determine exactly how we will do that in the shortest time to prevent us from being in that position again from the Ministry of Health.”
Rolle died exactly one year after Kim Johnson-Rolle, another Bimini resident who was not airlifted in time, became the country’s first COVID-19 death.
West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe did not respond to messages over the weekend seeking a comment on the matter.
Comments
TalRussell 3 years ago
The most sensible solution, rather than just leaving behind the 271 lbs or more, is to attach a rope to their feets and tow them onto either Nassau or *FREEport. Well, yes?
tribanon 3 years ago
That's very offensive humour for the family and friends of Louis Edward Rolle. When I was last in Bimini for a fishing tournament I spent a couple of late afternoons shooting the breeze over many a story with this rather personable and engaging man.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
The Bahamas has a lot of over weight people and this is the best you can do? Why not get isolation suits???? Extra large of course....
ThisIsOurs 3 years ago
On this one I think the plan should be to help the overweight people lose weight. What do we do if we have 10 400 lb people sick on multiple islands? It may not happen this go round but it's coming. The solution is weight loss. As an interim solution they can do a boat lift.
xtreme2x 3 years ago
My 1 cent. the solution is: IF THEY CAN NOT COME HERE. SEND WHAT IS NEEDED THERE. The PM say "he is trying to save lives".
John 3 years ago
Experts are now warning that long term symptoms of the corona virus may leave patients incapacitated and needing treatment for a long time after they have been cured of the virus. This is especially true for patients who have suffered extreme lung damage as other internal organs may also have been damaged. BUT A MAJOR CONCERN is the number numbers of persons who are showing to be mentally affected. Not only those who contracted the virus but those who experienced the pandemic. Suicides, attempted suicides, tendencies, domestic violence, gun violence and mass shootings are all on the increase. A recent suicide victim was barely 8 years old. So this country must brace itself and prepare for post-Corona trauma. Counseling and mental care must be available, especially to those who got the double blows of Hurricane Dorian and the Covid-19. And the children and the elderly, many who have been locked down for a year. And many people who have list jobs, homes, family members and loved ones .
banker 3 years ago
Perhaps the Department of Health should introduce an anti-obesity programme? I know several Bahamians who are over 400 pounds. Obesity can be a pandemic too.
tribanon 3 years ago
Right you are @banker. Obesity has been a raging pandemic in our country for the past four decades, but our corrupt politicans and our health officials have done little to recognize it and even less to meaningfully address it. Countless thousands of Bahamians have died from our obesity pandemic which is infinitely more widespread and deadly in Bahamian society than COVID-19 and its many variants could ever be. It does make you seriously wonder what all the emergency orders, protocol, lockdowns, curfews and travel restictions have been really all about.
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