bahamianpride
05-23-07, - 11:34 AM
23rd May
Residents Complain About Treatment At AIDS Camp
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12713
By Bianca Symonette
Several residents of the All Saints Camp are claiming that the new management team of the facility is running the camp into the ground due to the inhumane treatment of the 40 plus residents who call that facility home.
All Saints Camp is a facility for persons infected with HIV/AIDS. It was formerly ran by the late Rev. Glenroy Nottage, but after his death the care of the facility was passed on to his brother, Rev. Kendal Nottage.
According to some of the residents who are now receiving healthcare on the Sealy Ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital, the service at the facility has gotten so dire that they prefer to kill themselves than to return to the camp.
Patricia Woodside,57, told the Bahama Journal that she recently moved to All Saints to be around others who also have the illness, but she said after her short stay there, she quickly realized that the camp was not all what she expected it to be.
"I thought it was better than this. I made the decision to live there, but it is awful. We are cursed at, treated poorly and we are often told that we have to endure this harsh treatment because nobody wants us because of our illness," Ms. Woodside said.
Another resident at the home, Joanne Bannister, 47, said she resided in the camp for several months and she is also outraged at the poor treatment the patients receive at the camp.
According to Ms. Bannister, the patients are forced to run the camp because there is no nurse or other employees at the facility.
"I clean all the rooms for the patients and do the laundry. I also have to administer medication sometimes because there is no nurse on duty. We also have to cook to provide food for the persons who live here and when we are too sick to do the chores we are punished by being denied food or even sometimes being locked on the outside for days," Ms. Bannister claimed.
The residents are now appealing to the government to get a new management team for the centre so that they can be treated more humanely.
"We are being treated like dogs. I would prefer to stay in the hospital before I go back to All Saints because what it appears to be to those on the outside is really different from what happens on the inside," Natasha Cash, 37, said.
The women claimed that they are fed oats cereal and sometimes not fed at all if they refuse to do what the other patient, who allegedly runs the facility, tells them to do.
The women also claimed that the patient who runs the facility cooks while smoking and drinking alcohol and also dresses inappropriately.
The residents claimed they spend $350 per month to stay at the camp and they said they deserve better treatment.
They also complained that Rev. Nottage is never at the camp for them to raise their concerns.
But on Tuesday, Rev. Nottage declined to say whether the camp is being ran by the residents, but he did state that no complaints were made about the camp to him.
He added that he is unaware of anyone being treated inhumanely and would not comment on the allegations made by the women any further.
The patients who spoke with the Bahama Journal said they would forward their letters to the Department of Social Services outlining their concerns.
Residents Complain About Treatment At AIDS Camp
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12713
By Bianca Symonette
Several residents of the All Saints Camp are claiming that the new management team of the facility is running the camp into the ground due to the inhumane treatment of the 40 plus residents who call that facility home.
All Saints Camp is a facility for persons infected with HIV/AIDS. It was formerly ran by the late Rev. Glenroy Nottage, but after his death the care of the facility was passed on to his brother, Rev. Kendal Nottage.
According to some of the residents who are now receiving healthcare on the Sealy Ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital, the service at the facility has gotten so dire that they prefer to kill themselves than to return to the camp.
Patricia Woodside,57, told the Bahama Journal that she recently moved to All Saints to be around others who also have the illness, but she said after her short stay there, she quickly realized that the camp was not all what she expected it to be.
"I thought it was better than this. I made the decision to live there, but it is awful. We are cursed at, treated poorly and we are often told that we have to endure this harsh treatment because nobody wants us because of our illness," Ms. Woodside said.
Another resident at the home, Joanne Bannister, 47, said she resided in the camp for several months and she is also outraged at the poor treatment the patients receive at the camp.
According to Ms. Bannister, the patients are forced to run the camp because there is no nurse or other employees at the facility.
"I clean all the rooms for the patients and do the laundry. I also have to administer medication sometimes because there is no nurse on duty. We also have to cook to provide food for the persons who live here and when we are too sick to do the chores we are punished by being denied food or even sometimes being locked on the outside for days," Ms. Bannister claimed.
The residents are now appealing to the government to get a new management team for the centre so that they can be treated more humanely.
"We are being treated like dogs. I would prefer to stay in the hospital before I go back to All Saints because what it appears to be to those on the outside is really different from what happens on the inside," Natasha Cash, 37, said.
The women claimed that they are fed oats cereal and sometimes not fed at all if they refuse to do what the other patient, who allegedly runs the facility, tells them to do.
The women also claimed that the patient who runs the facility cooks while smoking and drinking alcohol and also dresses inappropriately.
The residents claimed they spend $350 per month to stay at the camp and they said they deserve better treatment.
They also complained that Rev. Nottage is never at the camp for them to raise their concerns.
But on Tuesday, Rev. Nottage declined to say whether the camp is being ran by the residents, but he did state that no complaints were made about the camp to him.
He added that he is unaware of anyone being treated inhumanely and would not comment on the allegations made by the women any further.
The patients who spoke with the Bahama Journal said they would forward their letters to the Department of Social Services outlining their concerns.