On Saturday, February 18th, a young woman was seen on Old Parham Road having a mental health emergency. After intervention by law enforcement, she was subdued and taken to the Emergency Room at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center where she was restrained but later escaped after her family was advised that they could leave.
Following this, the family found her, took her home and were in the process of getting her a consultation with a private doctor to speed up the process. However, she managed to escape the family home before this could be done.
On Monday, she was spotted on Sir George Walter Highway and received assistance from Mary John who then called Coolidge Police Station and reached out to me. While waiting on the police, we walked behind of her and kept her safe until she eventually got into the police truck and was taken back to the hospital. At the hospital, her stepmother, sister, Ms. John and father were present and were instrumental in calming her down so that she could be medicated and restrained for her safety.
After speaking to a doctor and presenting the test results for her admittance to Clarevue, it was observed that there were two tests outstanding and the doctor on call ordered the tests to be done. On Monday afternoon, her sister and stepmother cleaned her up, dressed her and ensured that she had something to eat before she slept. Her sister spent the night at the hospital with her and subsequently returned in the morning with clothing and more food.
As of this post, all tests have been conducted and the family is now awaiting a referral letter from the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center and a Court Order for her to be duly admitted to our lone psychiatric hospital.
I would like to take this time to send all my love and support to her family who have been doing their best throughout a very difficult period. I would also remind us all that times like this should not be played out in the public but we should take this as a learning experience and a call to action. Additionally, I would like to thank the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda for their responsiveness, the staff of the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center for their service, the Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital for guidance throughout this process, Mary John for her staunch activism and commitment to this cause and to all of those who have reached out, sent prayers and have assisted in any way.
