The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A 28-year-old sickle cell patient recovering from surgery at Princess Margaret Hospital was left lying in her own urine overnight without help from nursing staff, her family said — an ordeal they believe has shattered trust in the nation’s primary public hospital.

The incident is the latest case to put PMH’s quality of care and services in the public spotlight. The institution has legacy issues, with its head recently revealing it is short of 500 registered nurses. 

Branyiell Hall, mother of a four-year-old daughter and a lifelong sickle cell patient, underwent surgery on Wednesday in the Female Medical-Surgical Ward East. Her relatives said she was weak, numb, and unable to move after the procedure, leaving her completely dependent on staff through the night.

Her sister, 24-year-old Branae Russell, said she stayed until the end of visiting hours, feeding her sister and trying to make her comfortable before leaving. “I fed her Gatorade, tried to prop her up, and I left trusting that the nurses would take care of her since she couldn’t move,” Ms Russell said.

Early the next morning, she awoke to a 57-minute voice note from Ms Hall — crying, shaking, and unable to control her emotions — describing what she endured.

“From I come off of theatres yesterday, I was peeing,” Ms Hall said in the recording. “When I come on the ward, the night shift didn’t change my pamper or nothing. My whole bed was wet up and come this morning nobody change me and I just here laying in piss. This new nurse who come on this morning, they just finish trying to clean me up. Where I so painful, and she went and got me something for pain.”

The family said Ms Hall lay soaked in urine for hours through the night and into the morning without being checked on, changed, or repositioned. Ms Russell said her sister tried to call for nurses repeatedly but her calls went unanswered. She said Ms Hall had not been changed since immediately after surgery.

“She slept in pee all night and all morning,” Ms Russell said. “She didn’t sleep at all. She was up the whole night in pain, uncomfortable, and embarrassed. She kept calling for them, but nobody came. She felt disgusted laying in her own urine all night, and then the scent, it was terrible.”

Ms Russell said this was not the first time her sister experienced neglect at PMH, describing past occasions when night staff were slow to respond. She said this incident was “the final straw” and fears other patients may be suffering silently when families are not present.

“My only concern is, not being there, not knowing what’s going on,” she said. “Because rather than just having her lay up, what else are they neglecting a patient of? This isn’t the first situation — not with my sister alone, but other patients as well. It’s frightening because when we leave, the patients are vulnerable.”

In distress, Ms Russell posted her concerns on Facebook on Thursday, calling for intervention by the Minister of Health and the media. The post was shared hundreds of times. In it, she wrote: “Patients cannot be left vulnerable and helpless, especially after surgery. We deserve a healthcare system where staff not only do their jobs, but care about the people who depend on them. PMH needs accountability. PMH needs urgency. And PMH needs staff who treat patients with dignity — not as burdens.”

Ms Hall, who has battled severe complications from sickle cell disease for years, had been hospitalised at Rand Memorial Hospital in August before being transferred to PMH in October. In a GoFundMe launched later that month, she wrote: “I urgently need two surgeries — one to remove painful gallstones and another for my spine. On top of that, I’m currently unable to walk due to extreme weakness.”

Ms Russell said that despite the daytime shift cleaning her sister and administering pain relief, the ordeal left her emotionally traumatised. “She has some time where she is like very discouraged, where she's ready to give up, but my family is just try to encourage her all the time,” she said. “That's why I go there every day, to be able to make her feel comfortable, even when I'm tired from work all day I still go.”

She stressed that her criticism was not aimed at all hospital staff, saying there are “dedicated, compassionate healthcare workers,” but insisted systemic improvements are urgently needed. “I just really want the nurses to actually care because, you know, the family isn’t there, so you want to have someone that actually care about the patients that’s there,” she said.

Public Hospitals Authority Managing Director Aubynette Rolle, who was off-island when contacted, said she was initially unaware of the incident but has since alerted administrators. Ms Rolle said the complaint is now being reviewed internally.

Ms Hall remains hospitalised.