| Man Died Of TB in Prison. Why Not At Hospital? |
| Tue, March 3, 2015 |
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At around 7:20 last night, prison officers found 61 year old Albert Gordon lying dead inside his cell. According to the Belize Central Prison medical doctor, the elderly inmate has suffered with nutrition issues in the past and was being treated for tuberculosis. Before his death, he was vomiting and that later led to asphyxia. His family says, he shouldn't have been left to die in jail; if he was so sick, he should have been at a hospital. The prison doctor gave Monica Bodden his opinion:..
Javier Novel - Medical Doctor of the Prison
"The inmate Albert Gordon, he is a 61 year old elderly guy who have had nutrition issues in the past and was being treated for a positive TB. Eventually he had some vomiting that later lead to an asphyxia that lead to his death. He was found by an officer first reported at 7:20PM. It is not a concern. You should be aware that whenever anyone both the inmates and the public enter the prison, they are exposed to the TB infection that they can attain. The Ministry of Health works hand in hand with us. They came and they evaluated the situation. We have patients that received treatment. He was one of the patient that has received treatment and was in a very stable condition. However, his age played more a role that lead to his death."
"We focused on the patients that have chronic diseases or are elderly. We monitor them more closely. We have a medic centre that we can treat and we can even admit and we can even refer to KHMH in case any medical emergencies and we had no complaints. He was relatively stable and he was doing okay. People should not be scared of TB - families that have their relatives here, should not be scared. The Ministry of Health works hand in hand with KOLBE. We have protocols that we follow. KOLBE has been cleared. The patients are receiving treatments and everything is under control."
Gordon who is known as "Zeke" was serving a three year sentence for drug trafficking.
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