The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A DISABLED dialysis patient says Princess Margaret Hospital is jeopardising his life by transferring him to a treatment centre he cannot afford to reach, but Public Hospitals Authority managing director Dr Aubynette Rolle said he requested placement outside the public system and was “quite happy” when she discussed the arrangements with him.

Marvin Johnson, 62, accused PMH of victimising him in retaliation for years of outspoken criticism, claiming the transfer to Renal House off West Bay Street could cause him to miss the treatment he needs three times a week.

Mr Johnson, who is partially blind and uses a wheelchair, said he lives within walking distance of PMH but has no reliable way to travel to the new centre.

“My pension is only 600 something dollars a month, so it’s impossible for me to afford transportation,” he said outside PMH on Friday. “If I don’t go for treatment two or three times, I might as well pick out my casket.”

Dr Rolle appeared surprised by his account, saying she had personally discussed the new arrangements with him.

“He himself told me to remove him out of the public sector and put him in the private sector,” she said. “But, he can’t go to the Doctor’s Hospital because that was only an interim.”

Dr Rolle acknowledged Mr Johnson’s transportation concerns but said the authority is responsible for medical care, not transporting patients to appointments.

She said patients who need transportation assistance are referred to social services.

“The hospital cannot be blamed for the transportation element,” she said.

Mr Johnson has received dialysis at PMH three times a week for the past seven years. Although he has repeatedly criticised what he considers substandard treatment at the hospital, he said its proximity to his home makes it the most practical place for him to receive care.

He said he was shocked earlier this month when he was told he would be moved to Renal House after initially being transferred temporarily to Doctors Hospital.

“Mrs Rolle and I never had a conversation about me going to Renal House, never,” he said. “Why would I agree to something where I know I can’t get there?”

Mr Johnson said he does not oppose receiving dialysis at another facility, but cannot manage the cost of travelling there.

He called on the authorities to provide full transportation assistance if they insist on transferring him.

“I am requesting that those who made the decisions against my constitutional rights, against the patient bill of rights of PHA that if you request that I go to Renal House, that you provide me 100 per cent transportation assistance in getting there,” he said.

“That is my plight today because it’s unfair to treat a legally blind, confined to a wheelchair, handicapped patient of the public hospital system in that manner.”

Mr Johnson said he sought help from several people without success. He also contacted a ride-sharing operator and claimed he was told a round trip would cost about $80 a day, an expense he said he cannot afford.

Coalition of Independents deputy leader Dr Veronica McIver joined him outside PMH on Friday and condemned the decision.

Mr Johnson believes his transfer stems from a dispute dating to 2020, when he complained that the head of PMH’s nephrology department refused to treat him after ordering him to remove his shoes.

The Tribune reported on the dispute at the time. Mr Johnson said he was ultimately vindicated, but claimed the doctor had refused to put the matter behind him and may have influenced the transfer.

Dr Rolle firmly rejected that allegation, saying an internal review found no wrongdoing by the doctor.

“He just alleges without nothing concrete,” she said. “I’ve said it to him. If it is so, go through the courts as well as I laid over to my employee because of defamation etc.”

Dr Rolle said Mr Johnson was temporarily transferred to Doctors Hospital after recent power outages disrupted PMH’s dialysis unit.

She said the decision to move him permanently to Renal House was intended to separate him from the doctor and prevent further allegations.

“I removed the fear and the stigma because he said they were going to kill him,” she said. “That’s his words and so I got the doctors in charge of the kidney centre to accept him under the terms.”