Motorcyclist killed in crash with truck
(CNS) UPDATED MONDAY: Police have confirmed that the man who was killed following a collision in East End involving a motor bike and a truck near to the blow-holes Sunday was 30-year-old Caymanian Tonie Rodrigues of East End. The RCIPS said that emergency services responded to the scene of the collision on Sea View Road at around 6:30am. Rodrigues, who worked as a driver at Health City, was believed to be on his way to work when the crash happened. He was taken to the George Town hospital but succumbed to his injuries on arrival, police said.
There is no indication from the RCIPS yet what caused the accident and the driver of the truck which hit Rodrigues has not been arrested.
Category: Local News
RIP TONIE
YOU WERE SUCH A SWEET GUY. I AM GLAD I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET YOU, SEE YOU SMILE AND HEAR YOUR LAUGH AND BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE. GONE TOO SOON. ONE DAY WE WILL MEET AGAIN IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE. GOD BLESS TO THOSE WHO MOURN OVER HIS BEAUTIFUL SOUL. GOD BLESS HIS FAMILY AND HIS SON. HE WAS SO PROUD TO HAVE YOU IN HIS LIFE.
While Health City is a private hospital it does have emergency facilities along with operating theaters, blood banks, diagnostic testing and ICU. I am not sure what the paper requirement is but a blind man can see that they are more then equipped and qualified. The common misconception is that HSA is the public hospital where as Health City is private. However they BOTH REQUIRE either medical insurance and or payment and in cases of emergency they deal with the emergency first then the insurance later. Often times for government employees you have to go to HSA first and IF a referral is made and AFTER approval you can go to Health City or any other facility you need to. Maybe that’s where the confusion is, but for any other private insurer, it is as simple as making your appointment and paying your co pay.
I believe the issue here is that the HSA Ambulance is just that, I do not believe that they can take you to another facility.
Had the young man been carried by a private ambulance or vehicle Health City would have taken him as they have done with many other individuals, for goodness sake I heard he WORKED right there.
Perhaps this is a debate for the government and HSA. They should impose a standard that depending on the condition and location of the patient to allow HSA ambulance services to attend other facilities, for a few of course, or better yet provide emergency service vehicles that service the society as a whole and not just the government associated hospital.
Perhaps CNS should confirm the details of Health City emergency room and HSA ambulance policy. This would be good information to know.
“He was taken to the George Town hospital but succumbed to his injuries on arrival, police said.” – Confused, didn’t he pass away at the scene of the accident..?
EMTs cannot declare death. Only hospital staff/coroner/doctor or whichever can declare deceased.
Incorrect.
“Pronounced dead at the scene” is a common line in reports of accidents… so this cannot be the case
Incorrect information!
I respect all the comments here posted regarding going to Health City because it was right there. Perhaps if you all had some medical training and were actually there you would know that he was dead. It is unfortunate to say it but you can’t fix dead. The hospital could have been right next to him and it would not have mattered. Sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. Pointing fingers of blame in every other direction serves no purpose other than to stir things up.
Should Health city have an emergency room?? Wouldn’t hurt that’s for sure . But in this particular case no difference would have been made.
Health city please speak up.
People are saying that you are not equipped.
That is not what I am made to understand.
Tell us the facts please.
HC does not have an Emergency / Trauma center so they are not equipped to deal with emergencies.
They were told from the beginning not to compete with the existing hospital. They are a specialized surgical hospital not an emergency room.
This is not their fault.
I agree with the debate that Health City should also have an Emergency Room to cater to the Eastern Districts, especially as there has been a significant population growth, however, it is somewhat ironic given that so many people where adamant against Health City in the first instance……….Perhaps a lesson learned for next time a proposal is made to give something a chance before trash talking it?
Condolences to the family – a tragic event for everyone involved.
You report that:
1. There is no indication from the RCIPS yet what caused the accident.
2. Yet you have concluded that the driver of the truck hit Rodrigues.
XXXXXX
CNS: I am going to stop you there. There is nothing in this article that in any way concludes that the driver is to blame. I don’t know where you get that from.
Mindful, you definitely have a comprehension problem!! You should try and take up English classes.
RIP
This is ridiculous! Health City was right across and instead they took him to GT. I would think saving his life would be a priority… we need to change this, we should have a choice … his life could perhaps be saved if he had medical help quicker.
Let’s try letting the EMTs assess the patient and then transport to the appropriate hospital based upon the nature and extent of a patient’s symptoms and/or injuries?
Health City is a fine hospital for many issues but IS NOT SET UP with an Emergency Room. It is a matter of not just having a building but also having suitable equipment and on duty physicians trained in emergency medicine.
The vast majority of emergency cases seen by our EMTs should NOT go directly to Health City. The Cayman Islands Hospital is set up with an Accident and Emergency department with suitably skilled physicians on duty.
The ambulance crews do have radios and phones and can consult with physicians as needed to determine most suitable hospital for treatment in case there is any doubt. This is a decision best left to trained medical personnel and not Monday morning second guessers on a message board.
Anonymous 4:58pm., please answer these questions. Can Cayman Islands Hospitals handle a catastrophic disaster of say just 250 victims at one time ?
Do you believe that a catastrophic can happen in Cayman Islands ? Why not be read/prepared for if when it happens .
But I agree with your comment in normal situations .
Cayman conducts emergency exercises on a regular basis for a possible aircraft disaster with patient totals in the range of what you hypothesize That planning involves mobilizing multiple medical providers, not just the Cayman Islands Hospital. And even that would stretch the resources of this island. So why not scale up our medical capabilities?
Money. Who is going to pay to equip an Emergency Room and pay staff to sit around when there are not enough patients to pay the bills? There are not enough cases in the Eastern Districts to justify equipping Health City with an Emergency Department.
It is a compromise forced by economics. Why not prepare for a disaster with 500 victims? A thousand? Cruise ships bring up to about 4,000 or so people. Maybe we should build a couple dozen hospitals, outfit them all to Level I trauma centers with multiple trauma surgeons standing around twiddling their thumbs the vast majority of the time? But who will pay?
The reality is that major cities with large populations do not have the capacity to simultaneously deal with thousands of patients at once. They must triage the patients, first dealing with the most critical patients who can be helped. That means making some patients wait and, in the worst situations, giving up on the most injured who cannot be saved. And then personnel moving on to the next patient once the first round has been treated. Continue until all patients have been treated.
And in the end perhaps a couple surgeons have treated a very few victims but those cases were complicated. Other medical personnel have treated dozens. But all the patients from a major disaster are never dealt with all at once. Some had to wait.
I understand what you are saying , but I am not saying that these Hospitals be managed and equipped only for a catastrophic disaster. I am saying that they should be able to handle it in an Emergency and that a victim might need to get that special operation which is not available on the ambulance and the victim only has 5min life left then the ambulance has 15min more travel time to the furthest hospital, when the victim could have taken to the nearest hospital in 5 minutes.
I am no medical expert , but I wouldn’t think that every hospital should be a special hospital for one thing only .
I am old salt of the sea and I know that regardless of what you equipped your boat for you can still use it and the crew for other purposes.
Anonymous 11:11am , you are right it is rediculous and it needs to be changed . But you the people have to make Government understand that it has to be. changed .
You’re a Premier and can’t spell ridiculous? Hmmmmm!
Why would they NOT take him to Health City to give him a better chance to save his life! That is very disturbing.
My prayers go out to his family.
This is really something for the people of Grand Cayman to think about . Why aren’t all Hospitals equipped and able to handle EMERGENCY TRAUMA accidents . Just look at the time difference between getting to Health City and George town Hospital in this particular accident .
Sometimes in life and death situation 5 to 10 minutes can save a life . And why isn’t there Emergency Stations in all these districts of the Islands, say West bay , George town , Bodden Town , North side , East end .
I wonder if Government cares about any an everyone’s life . Who is stopping Health City from also being able to handle EMERGENCY TRAUMA ?
Or did Health City choose not to be involved in handling trauma ?
Who’s paying for it genius?
They aren’t that kind of doctors. If you want another trauma center tell your government to build you one.
At present Health City is not a trauma hospital, so it’s possible that the accident victim was taken to GT Hospital.
That needs to change. Health City should have an emergency room. When minutes count in saving a life, it’s necessary to get the patient to the nearest facility.
Totally agree it would be perfect, but there is more to that…Health City is a private facility and I am sure you as a private resident will do your part in financing it. Maybe if folks follow the traffic laws such tragedies as they happen over and over could be avoided in the first place. But no one wants to be held accountable as usual, makes me sick. Sorry for the loss to Family and friends.
Ammm the last I checked most have medical insurance that all have an emergency service in them. Even the CHIC plan.
Do we ever think that we might need more than one Emergency Trauma Hospital on the Island . The population of the Islands has doubled . Can George town Hospital handle say 250 victims at one time in a catastrophic disaster ? I think that the answer is no . So if that is the only faculty available then there are going to be a lot of people who would suffer .
If we don’t think that the numbers of 250 victims is not realistic , just look at what just happened in Las Vegas two weeks ago, and the following week in England. And remember that we do gather in large groups for different festivals.
Remember the saying goes a stitch in time saves nine . Do you need anymore help let me know.
You are not realistic. When I went to primary school we had 1 Emergency Room and 3 Ambulances. 25 years later my daughter is in primary school and we have 1 Emergency Room and 3 Ambulances. Think about it…
East end Hospital 30 seconds from the crash? Government Hospital 45 minutes? North side Ambulance 25 minutes ? It was for the patient best interest to go to the nearest facility for treatment until he was able to be further assessed/stabilized. Re-thinking the golden hour in trauma!…FOI
My $ 0.02…
Take care and also update your personal liability insurance…
What hospital was the accident victim taken to?
So sad. May God be with his loved ones in this time of grief…