#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – October 2, 2020 – Usually Crissy Pratt is a strong woman with an unapologetic posture. Two nights ago, Crissy Pratt was something else completely. In a live social media broadcast from her hospital bed at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, Chrissy appeared fractured and frightened and fed up.
“I need justice, that’s what I need!”
It was a repeated refrain throughout the hour long broadcast
on Facebook, where Crissy cried, Crissy vowed to make her experiences known and
where Crissy called on Turks and Caicos people to stand with her.
Criticisms of the health care system in the Turks and Caicos Islands are legendary and have spawned from US Travel alerts which have labelled local medical care as inadequate, to visitors and national health insurance contributors who have penned comments exposing slow and cold service, to residents who have lost loved ones, when they believe those family members could have been saved.
The TCI Hospitals has been a main figure in the steady
stream of concerns since it opened in 2010 and has elicited such disquiet that
its operations and cost to the public have been fuel for political platforms
and party manifestos.
“How much of y’all gatta go down in a body bag before this stops. How much of us pay our contributions to this government and you still gatta beg for help! Don’t be fooled, this ain’t right, this ain’t right. This is not right! You hold me hostage.”
Griselda Pratt or Crissy is a popular local radio
personality who informs that she is both Bahamian and Turks and Caicos
Islander. Her radio joc name is Crazy
Crissy because her energy is crazy high and her comments are crazy bold and her
wit is crazy funny. Now Crissy, in her
Facebook broadcast is fighting for her life after she alleges she was denied
help from the TCI Hospitals and the National Health Insurance Board.
“After Dr. Menzies told you serve me. Then, I went to the Dominican Republic on my own and those same doctors wrote again and said serve this woman and you bypass that and I write 75 letters to Edwin Astwood (TCI Minister of Health), 75 I write to you. Eddie you know, you is a fair person, you answered me day and night fighting to help me and they never listened!” Amidst tears, Ms. Pratt continued with: “I have been begging for help. I called this hospital. I called Denise Braithwaite, you, yes I called you I went to your office I sit down and give you a letter from not one doctor, not two doctors I give you from three doctors telling you ‘help this woman!’
Denise Braithwaite is currently the acting CEO of the TCI Hospitals. Magnetic Media reached out to the InterHealth Canada run TCI Hospitals for a response to the allegations; a reply came yesterday, October 1.
“Due to respect for patient confidentiality, the specific details
of the complainant’s medical care will not be disclosed. Our team of dedicated
and highly trained health professionals have been, and continues to offer her
care in accordance with evidence-based guidelines.
The hospital vehemently denies all allegations of ill-treatment
made by Ms Pratt.”
Also fingered by Ms. Pratt is another, often heavily criticised health care entity, the National Health Insurance Board.
“I went to NHIP, you know
what they did. They discontinued my treatment.”
There is reportedly a law suit, filed by Griselda ‘Crissy’ Pratt against the NHIB, which today – October 2- replied with a brief statement.
“While the National
Health Insurance Board (NHIB) is aware of allegations made against the
Organisation by Ms. Griselda Pratt, we cannot offer a response at this time due
to patient confidentiality, and a pending legal matter involving Ms. Pratt and
the NHIB. We do, however, wish to reiterate that the NHIB remains committed to
providing access to high quality healthcare options to all our valued National
Health Insurance Plan (NHIP) registrants.”
Crissy claims at the time she was ejected from the NHIB system, her condition was critical and she was over-medicated. Crissy also believes that the so called ‘sins’ of the health care system – chiefly the two named entities – have continued for so long because residents are silently accepting the low standard of service.
“What are we paying for?
What are we paying for? You paying for
somebody to kill you? Yeah, my hands may
be in the lion’s mouth because I in these people place, but I have faith and I
know for sure that I am coming out of this but when I come out of this, I ga
leave footprints in the sand for people like you all who are afraid to speak
out and afraid to speak for your rights.”
Nearly nine thousand
people have viewed the video post and close to 1,000 comments were made largely
in support of Crissy and offering prayers for recovery of the popular
broadcaster who said she was misdiagnosed three times and that at least one
machine at the hospital is faulty.
“The hospital has been in extensive discussions
with the complainant in relation to specific historical claims made by her. To
date these claims have not been substantiated by her. We certainly empathize
and understand that this is a challenging time for Ms Pratt, as it is for all
patients hospitalized at this time. Our dedicated and highly trained medical
team is ever mindful of these challenges, and has and shall continue to do
their utmost to support Ms Pratt.”
Ms. Pratt has promised to
post the evidence of her claims to social media. At the time of this report, those items were
not yet uploaded.
For many though, the believability of Crissy Pratt’s harrowing experience which she says has dragged on for a year is not why this issue has captured so much attention. It is seeing Crissy so shaken by her ordeal coupled with the frequency of similar reports from so many unrelated patients who come from all walks of life which is again raising eyebrows and red flags about the quality of public funded health care, which is costing the people of this UK overseas territory at least $5 million a month.
