A ST MICHAEL MAN collapsed and died yesterday morning in the Broad Street branch of the Barbados National Bank (BNB), The City.
Bertrand Griffith, 49, of Cottage Heights, St George, died despite efforts to resuscitate him.
An eyewitness, Merton Brathwaite, said he was inside the bank when he heard a loud cry.
“Around 11 a.m, I heard a loud exclamation and saw the man collapse in the doorway. People pulled him inside and checked his pulse but they couldn’t find any, so they started CPR,” he said.
Brathwaite said staff of the bank called the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) but said they were told no ambulances were available.
“Time is of the essence in situations like this. I thought the people there could work on him until an ambulance arrived but there was no ambulance.
“Finally someone got through to Island Care [Ambulance Service] and they came around 11:45 a.m but the paramedics said there were no vital signs; it was too late,” he said.
Brathwaite said he did not understand why the QEH had no back-up measures such as the Barbados Defence Force. He said he was also concerned about the length of time Griffith’s body remained at the bank.
“At 3 p.m, he was still there. It is madness in this country. How can we be attempting to be a First World country without a proper ambulance service?” he said.
In response, a release from the QEH said all their operatives were engaged at the time and expressed regret at the passing of Griffith.
“The Queen Elizabeth Hospital expresses deep sadness for the loss of life which occurred today. It is never easy to account for such a loss, especially when it takes place in such close proximity to the parameters in which the QEH functions. Yet, it is necessary to validate service outputs at times like this when the public sentiment calls for it.
“In this instance, the Emergency Ambulance Service were called to the scene at 11:15 a.m yesterday morning. At that time, all crewed ambulances were out attending to other emergencies. The dispatcher had endeavoured to get an ambulance to the gentleman in question but when the crew arrived, he had regrettably passed away,” it stated.
Staff members of BNB assisted the Barbados Police Force in securing the doors of the bank while scores of onlookers gathered to see the body.
Robert Le Hunte, managing director and chief executive officer of BNB said: “We have brought down some trauma consultants to deal with staff and family. It is very traumatising to have to see the body there but there is nothing we can do. All we can do is try to make the best of the tragedy and unfortunate situation.
“We tried our best, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was provided and the necessary CPR operations were carried out, but based on what I’m seeing it didn’t look like it was successful.”
The bank was closed to the public for the remainder of the day and according to Le Hunte, it would “hopefully” be reopened on Monday.(CA/AH)
