'DEAD' MAN WALKS

by MELISSA ROLLOCK

THE NEW CEO of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be launching an investigation into claims by a St Michael man that he woke up in their morgue after having an epileptic seizure.

Communications specialist at the hospital, Katrinah Best, said yesterday she had informed Dr Dexter James about the matter surrounding 46-year-old Reynzill Scantlebury, also known as Lorenzo.

The car washer from Whitehall, St Michael, in a recent interview told the SATURDAY SUN that he "came to" in the hospital's morgue sometime this month after blacking out near Halls Road, St Michael.

"When I wake up I was inside what I thought was a dark room; it was black and cold . . . . When I got up and look behind me, I saw this big refrigerator with drawers. I had just come out of one of the same drawers . . . ," Scantlebury related.

He said he was not aware of the time lines as a result of his blackouts and could not give a definitive time as to when he was hospitalised, nor for how long.

The matter was even brought up by a concerned caller on Starcom Network's Down To Brass Tacks radio call-in programme yesterday.

Best said the hospital's Medical Records Department did not have a record of a Reynzill Scantlebury, but of another man, also a Scantlebury, whose first name was close to his and who had Lorenzo as a middle name.

"The man we have on record was age 49 and he died on one of the 'C' wards on October 4. On that same day, he was taken to the morgue and taken out of hospital by the funeral home on October 9.

"We don't have any record of a Reynzill Lorenzo Scantlebury aged 46 on record," said Best, who added that she had spoken to the director of Support Services at the QEH, Louise Bobb, whose jurisdiction the morgue fell under.

When the SATURDAY SUN contacted the funeral home in question, one of its directors confirmed that they did remove a body on October 9 and conducted funeral services for the deceased.

"At this moment in time, given the delicate nature of the inquiry, we're going to conduct some investigations," said Best, hinting that it could end up as a police matter.

More details in tomorrow's SUNDAY SUN and online at NATIONnews.com.