The family of former government minister and founding member of the People’s National Movement Kamaluddin Mohammed said yesterday that Mohammed was “treated very well” during his three-week stay at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for a recurring urinary tract problem.
Radio announcer Rafi Mohammed, who is the son of the former minister, was responding to a public statement issued by former health minister Dr Fuad Khan.
Khan, the MP for San Juan/Barataria, claimed Mohammed, a former ambassador to Caricom, was denied the services of an ambulance to take him home to Mohammedville, Aranguez. Khan said the denial of such a service to Mohammed was unfortunate and sad.
“During his discharge from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mt. Hope, a request was made by both Mr. Mohammed's family and the staff at the hospital for an ambulance to transport him to his home, due to the severity of his condition, coupled with the unavailability of a vehicle to sufficiently comfort him during the journey,” Khan stated.
“While it is common protocol for persons discharged from the hospital to arrange their own transportation, exceptions are also made in critical cases such as Mr Mohammed's,” he said. Khan said it was “disheartening” to be told that “after numerous requests were made to the management of the hospital he was eventually denied the courtesy and was subsequently transported in the cramped back seat of a private vehicle.”
Khan noted that the hospital was constructed during the period when Mohammed was a cabinet minister of a PNM Government. Khan said that the responsibility for a patient did not end at the time of discharge, but should continue for as long as the patient required it.
But Mohammed’s son, Rafi, said his father had called his brother, Nazim, to take his father home because no ambulance was available. Mohammed said his father was brought home on Tuesday in good condition and slept well at home. Mohammed said there was no indication of any discomfort or inconvenience caused to his 88-year-old father. Mohammed was resting comfortably at his home yesterday.
Sources say the Mohammed family was upset over the latest development, saying people were playing politics with the health issue. It was the second time in recent months Mohammed was hospitalised for the same problem.