Cay Hill:--- Patient care at the St. Maarten Medical Center is now at risk as there is obviously no leadership at the institution when the medical director is off island. SMN News spent over four hours at the St. Maarten Medical Center on Thursday when the leader of the National Alliance William Marlin was taken to the hospital for emergency care. It is scary for persons who have to depend on the St. Maarten Medical Center for emergency medical care because it seems as though health care is at risk due to the lack of proper leadership and space.The National Alliance leader was taken to the St. Maarten Medical Center on Wednesday night by his wife when he complained of feeling unwell. His wife Gabriel Marlin said when they reached the hospital the doctor on duty said her husband's blood pressure was a bit high so the doctor placed a tablet under her husband's tongue and sent him home. The Marlins said while at the hospital on Wednesday night the doctors ran certain tests before deciding to give her husband this tablet and send him home.
Mrs. Marlin said they reached home around 3am and they went to bed but by 6:30am her husband was not feeling any better, she said she immediately called an ambulance and he was taken to the hospital. "At that time, William was feeling very dizzy and he was unable to balance himself, so he told me to call the ambulance." William Marlin arrived at the St. Maarten Medical Center around 07:00 am on Thursday morning at the Emergency section where he waited until 11:15am before he could be taken to a room as he was admitted for further observation.
Medical staff at the hospital said there was no bed available Wednesday night and that was the reason the decision was taken to send Mr. Marlin home even though he was supposed to be monitored after given the high blood pressure medication. "The medication that he was given probably sent his pressure down too quickly and that is why he felt dizzy this morning one nurse said."
Inside the emergency room, Marlin was complaining of feeling uncomfortably and he wanted to sleep but because he was on stretcher that seemed impossible. Several phone calls had to be placed to the chairman of the supervisory board of the St. Maarten Medical Center Robert Velasquez who finally made his way to the hospital to find a solution. SMN News contacted Velasquez on a number of occasions when the wait seemed unbearable for Mr. Marlin. SMN News confirmed from officials at the hospital that Dr. George Scot was not on island. SMN News also contacted Dr. Scot by phone and he said we should contact him half an hour later however; he did not answer his phone when we called back.
When the news broke that Marlin was ill and taken to the St. Maarten Medical Center, the members of parliament from the National Alliance faction made their way to the hospital including several supporters of the National Alliance. Among them were; Leo Friday, Junior Lake, President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier, Richard Gibson Sr.
The Marlins became frustrated when they learnt that some radio stations announced that Parliamentarian William Marlin had suffered a heart attack and some announced that he had a stroke. Relatives said no one from the radio stations contacted them to see if what they were reporting had any truth to it. More upsetting is that persons were using their blackberries to say William Marlin had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.
Currently, William Marlin is resting well at the St. Maarten Medical Center, and it must be made clear that he did not suffer a stroke neither a heart attack.
