~ Surgeon disappears after death of Gobin Bansie, Clinica de Occidente claims patient died of an overdose.~
PHILIPSBURG:--- The families of the late Gobin Bansie who died in Cali Colombia hours after having open heart surgery are demanding that justice be granted to them for the untimely death of their father and husband.
Detailing the horror, the family went through his daughter Polieta Gobin Taylor said her father was admitted to the St. Maarten Medical Center after he visited the institution. Taylor said her father was admitted to SMMC on January 24th, 2023, and was airlifted to Curacao on January 27th, 2023.
Taylor said her father was admitted to SMMC when doctors told him that he had water in his lungs and one blocked artery. She explained that at SMMC the water from his lungs was flushed out and he was sent to Curacao to unblock the one blocked artery. The bereaved daughter explained that while in Curacao the doctors there found that her father had three blocked arteries, and a leaking valve and the hospital in Curacao claimed that they were unable to treat Gobin Bansie any further and as such, they airlifted him to Cali Colombia on January 31st, 2023, while arriving at Clinica de Occidente on February 1st, 2023.
Déplorable conditions at Clinica de Occidente Emergency Room.
Taylor said when she arrived at the Emergency Room after 1 am she was forced to wait outside of the building with her father on a stretcher for over half an hour. “The place was extremely cold and we had to wait on the translator who could hardly speak English, inside the emergency room area patients were lying on the floor with babies, the entire area was in deplorable condition, it was untidy and crowded and very depressing because no one speaks English there.”
Taylor further explained that when they finally got inside the emergency room they took her father to an isolated room since he was sent there for emergency surgery, however, there was no WIFI for international patients to make contact with their families in St. Maarten even to notify their relatives that they arrived safely in Colombia.
“I want to state clearly that I expressed concerns before being sent to Cali Colombia and Clinica de Occidente. The caseworker from SZV called me and I told her I did not want to take my father to that hospital because my dad’s best friend was taken there days prior for the very same surgery and too died and his family is still awaiting answers to his cause of death.”
No Scans sent from Curacao Hospital to Clinica de Occidente.
As if being in an unhygienic hospital and with a language barrier was not enough the nightmare got worse when it was discovered that the doctors in Curacao that transferred Gobin Bansie to Clinica de Occidente did not send the scans that were done in Curacao, and this was a major set back for the doctors at Clinica de Occidente.
Taylor said she called the SZV correspondent in Curacao and did not receive any assistance in getting the scans sent to Clinica de Occidente, she said it took four days of calling the hospital in Curacao as well as relatives there, and still the scans were not sent. “ After four days of trying to get assistance from Curacao and the case worker at SZV St. Maarten Taylor said she eventually emailed the hospital in Curacao and they eventually responded to her and sent the scans over to Clinica de Occidente. “Doctors at Clinica de Occidente said that they could not redo the scans because it would have been very dangerous since they would have had to use more dye which is not that safe.”
The open heart surgery was scheduled to take place on February 8th, 2023 by Dr. Sarate convincing the late Gobin Bansie and his daughter that the procedure was a simple one and that he was in good hands. His daughter further explained that on February 8th, 2023 her father was prepared for the surgery and even they gave her father a relaxant that made him sleepy, and just before being taken down to the operating room Dr. Sarate ran to them, told them that he was sorry that the surgery had to be canceled that day because the hospital was lacking a major “tube” for the surgery. Taylor said Dr. Sarate told them the tubes were placed on order, but the hospital did not receive any. Taylor further explained that in preparation for the surgery on February 8th her father had to fast from the night before, and all day on February 8th only to be told that the surgery had to be canceled. Bear in mind that the late Gobin Bansie was also a diabetic patient.
On February 9th while Taylor was still in bed she was called and told that the surgery would take place on that day at 1 pm. She said she went over to the hospital and stayed with her father until he was taken to the operating room and that was the last time she saw her father alive.
“I wanted to stay in the hospital room so that I could get some updates on how the surgery went, but at Clinica de Occidente that is not allowed, and I was told to go to the hotel and rest and when the surgery is over “International” would come to get me,” Taylor said that she waited all day and all night, and she never received a call from the doctors or the hospital. “It was 4:26 am when International sent me a message and shortly after they called me and told me that the surgery was a difficult one however it was successful but my father did not make it. I asked questions but by 5 am I was taken to identify my dad’s body and was told that the surgery was difficult but it was successful.”
Overdose medication given.
Taylor said while in the recovery room where her father passed away, she was told by the translator and the doctor that was there that after the surgery the late Gobin Bansie's blood pressure dropped too low and he was given medication to bring the pressure up, but he was given an overdose and he went into a cardiac arrest. “The doctor told me that my father was given an overdose of medication that killed him.
After Gobin Bansie died, his daughter Polieta Taylor remained in Cali Colombia for 8 days and she did not see the surgeon Dr. Sarate who told them that the surgery was a simple procedure and that he was in good hands. “I would like to know where Dr. Sarate is because he did not have the courtesy to even meet with me to provide explanations.
Investigation underway.
After his death, I met with the Chief Executive Officer of Clinica de Occidente Dr. Travis, and Dr. Juan Estaban Bedoya -Arias who said they were sorry for the outcome but assured me that USZV, Clinica de Occidente and both disciplinary boards are investigating as to what went wrong. In this meeting, I informed both men that I was informed by the translator and doctor in the recovery room that my father was given overdosed, and that killed him. Both doctors admitted that it was an overdose because they too were told the same, thus they are investigating.
In this meeting, Taylor asked both doctors to call in Dr. Sarate, and they said they don’t understand what happened and they are investigating.
“ I want to make clear that our family will hold both USZV and Clinica de Occidente fully responsible for the death of the late Gobin Bansie. There is enough evidence that there was medical malpractice that killed my father, he was butchered and the surgeon did not care enough to even meet with me.”
Detailing the events that took place at Clinica de Occidente, Taylor said that from the time her father was admitted at Clinica de Occidente, the doctors prescribed a blood thinner for her dad which was given to him every day, they also began giving him medication for hypertension even though the late Gobin Bansie was not a hypertension patient. “I questioned this because from the time my father was admitted they were taking his blood pressure multiple times every day and each time, they told me and my father that his pressure was perfect, yet they prescribed hypertension medication,” Taylor said that blood was taken from the late Gobin Bansie every day and she also questioned that because her father began feeling weak and she was told that the daily blood tests are required because Dr. Sarate wants to ensure that there are no bacteria in his blood, while no proper explanations were given as to why he was given hypertension medication.
Major cover-up at Clinica de Occident, death certificate states Natural Causes.
Taylor said hours after her father’s death she had to identify her father’s body three times, at the hospital, she indicated that she wanted an autopsy done, while she does not want no organs removed from the body. She said she was assured by the funeral home that the body would not be touched after 24 hours and that it will be placed in a freezer to make sure it does not decompose.
She said she was asked to sign some documents that were all in Spanish and she questioned the translator who assured her that her requests would be granted and the documents were for repatriation to St. Maarten.
“I also questioned his cause of death because, on the death certificate, Clinica de Occidente states that Gobin Bansie died of natural causes while he had open-heart surgery and they admitted to giving him an overdose. “Our family needs closure, we know our father was killed and it states he died of natural causes. There is a reason why my dad passed away and someone just did not do their job.”
Warning to SXM Patients that are being sent to Clinica de Occidente.
Taylor said she wants patients going to Colombia specifically to Clinica de Occident to be aware of what is going on there. There is a major cover-up when patients died. They embalm the bodies to get rid of evidence and to avoid lawsuits. “ I was told by the funeral home that the body would not be touched until after 24 hours by the funeral home while the CEO of Clinica de Occidente tells me that embalming has to take place 12 hours after death to avoid decomposition.
“Today my father’s body is back in St. Maarten and I asked for an autopsy both in Cali Colombia and to SZV, I signed all the documents to consent for the autopsy to be conducted by an Independent body only to be told that the body was embalmed and nothing else can be done.”
Besides the cover-up, Clinica de Occidente is milking money from SZV, patients are sent for one thing, and at Clinica de Occidente and they create illnesses and situations to keep the patients longer. “ Imagine I took my father for heart surgery and before he got the surgery they indicated that they want to fix his teeth.”
Another major problem is the lack of coordination between the hospitals starting from the St. Maarten Medical Center, Curacao, and Clinica de Occicente."I have the proof that I had to be the one to get the scans from Curacao while my case worker at SZV did not see it fit to even respond to the emails." With all of this in mind, Taylor said an open heart surgery costs USZV $4000. while the repatriation of the corpse can cost up to $20.000 depending on the route it takes to get the body here for burial.
