Death at National Psychiatric Hospital sparks questions

The National Psychiatric Hospital did not report the death of 52-year-old Ravindra Yudeshwar Bishram to the Police following the incident which led to his death, relatives and his caretaker are alleging. According to relatives, law enforcement officials were only contacted after the deceased man’s caretaker went to the Police to formally report the death upon encountering confusion and a lack of documentation while seeking answers at the hospital. Bishram, a long-term patient at the National Psychiatric Hospital, was reportedly involved in an incident last Thursday evening inside a section of the institution. Initial information indicated that he may have been struck by another patient. He was subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Another patient was placed in isolation as investigations were launched into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Dairam Singh, who serves as the deceased man’s caretaker, said he was at work just before 09:00h when he received a phone call informing him that Bishram had been involved in an incident at the psychiatric institution. According to Singh, the caller first sought to confirm his connection to Bishram before stating that the patient had “ended up in a thing,” adding that there were reports he either fell or was struck by someone. He said he was then told that Bishram had already passed away and was at the public hospital’s emergency unit.

Singh said he went to the hospital shortly after receiving the call, arriving sometime around 09:30h. “I went there immediately… I speak to the doctor… she told me that Ravi had an issue there,” he recalled. He further explained that when he visited the public hospital to enquire about the post-mortem process, he was met with what he described as confusion over the deceased’s records. “When I go there, the doctor said he had no chart: he had no record about this patient who died,” he said.
According to Singh, it was during those exchanges that he was informed that an official report would have to be made to the Police. “He said we have to make an official report to the Police… this is Police information,” he stated. The caretaker said he subsequently went to the Police station and made a formal report, after which officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) contacted him and indicated that they would be taking over the matter. Singh further claimed that this was not the first time Bishram had sustained injuries while at the institution. “Several times you get injured… you get bruises on your face, hand,” he said, suggesting that previous incidents had raised concerns but were never fully addressed. He maintained that he is now seeking accountability for what transpired. “I want justice,” Singh declared. Singh explained that Bishram had been in and out of the institution for several years but had remained there continuously for the past six to eight years. “Well, he’s been there long… but since his mother got sick he remained there: he never come out,” he said. He noted that he last saw Bishram at Christmas. Bishram was reportedly found lying in a pool of blood inside a section of the hospital known as the Acute Centre, an enclosed transitional ward used to house patients who are being monitored between admission and placement in the general ward. Initial reports had indicated that another patient, a 38-year-old man from Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice (WCB) may have been involved in the incident. That individual was subsequently placed in isolation as investigations commenced. A post-mortem examination (PME) is expected to be conducted in the coming days to determine the exact cause of death, while Police investigations remain ongoing. Up to late Saturday, no official statement had been issued by the National Psychiatric Hospital addressing the circumstances surrounding Bishram’s death or the timeline of the Police notification.