A grieving mother last night called for a secure care unit to be made available at St. Brendan's Hospital for schizophrenics who suffer with diabetes or other life-threatening illnesses.

Donna Mae Smith, of Pembroke, was informed yesterday that her son Earl Rashun Smith, who suffered from schizophrenia and diabetes, had died of a heart attack after falling into a diabetic coma while in an abandoned office in the old hospital building.

Mr. Smith's body was found in the office - which was previously used by the Social Services Department and had once been an out-patient psychiatric unit - on Monday morning by a security guard. Ms Smith said she was told he had died three days earlier.

She said she did not blame anyone for her son's death, but called for adequate facilities for people like her son, who were unable to care for themselves.

Ms Smith revealed that she had attended a tribunal at St. Brendan's Hospital one month ago where it was decided to keep her son there as he was a danger to himself because he was unable to treat his schizophrenia and his diabetes.

When Mr. Smith was 17 years old, he was diagnosed with type one diabetes, which entailed two injections a day, balancing sugar levels and eating a half hour after each meal, along with other care.

During the same year, when he was working for the MarketPlace in the produce department, he was also diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Ms Smith said before being diagnosed with both diseases her son was outgoing and a top student at Warwick Secondary School.

She said: “His report cards were handed around at Parent Teachers Association meetings as an example of what a good report card looked like.

“But after being diagnosed with diabetes and schizophrenia, he became withdrawn.”

She said that after the meeting at St. Brendan's Hospital, she was surprised to see her son wandering the streets of Hamilton a fortnight later.

“The last time I saw Earl was two weeks ago and I told him to take care of himself,” she said. “I hadn't seen him since and I became quite worried about that - I had a funny feeling that something wasn't right.

“Earl was in the hospital (KEMH) last week and he released himself.

“This was not new, he did it all the time. He would either come to the hospital with low or high sugar levels and as soon as he felt better he would get up and go.

“He left the hospital last week and no one had seen him since.

“I don't know if he went back to that area of the hospital because that was where he had previously got his medication or whether he went there to rest because he knew the offices were empty.

“No one was there and maybe he laid down to die. Or maybe there was just so much sugar in his blood that his poor heart couldn't pump.

“It's difficult to say, but I think that he probably just laid down to rest - before falling into a diabetic coma and then suffering a fatal heart attack because of the high sugar levels in his blood.”

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said yesterday that an autopsy revealed that Mr. Smith had died of natural causes.

“After an autopsy carried out this morning by a locum pathologist, foul play was ruled out and the death of Earl Rashun Smith was found to be from natural causes,” Mr. Caines said.

However, Ms Smith said the powers that be failed her son, who had been suffering with the combination of diseases for nine years.

“The system failed Earl and unless something is put in place for others like him - there will be more,” she said. “In all this time there have been no plans to extend or build a unit for combination cases.

“But there is a secure area for people who are not only a danger to themselves, but to the public.

“There has to be a place for people like Earl, who cannot help themselves.

“He didn't know how to control his sugar levels - he was left to fend for himself - the sugar could go too high or too low - both of which are dangerous.”

She admitted her son was a challenge and no angel, but she thought that if the doctors and nurses at St. Brendan's had a facility to keep her son in, then he would have been alive.

She said: “At other times Earl was expected to make his way to St. Brendan's for his medication, but I think people forget that their minds work in a different way and they are not going to be disciplined and take their medicine.

“When he wasn't receiving his medication he would deteriorate rapidly.

“I couldn't give up my job and look after him 24/7 - I couldn't bring him in (to my home), as the neighbours would be afraid, so unfortunately outside of St. Brendan's and the occasional stay at the hospital, Earl was left to the streets.

“He stayed at Salvation Army for a while, but he didn't really like it.

“(KEMH) Hospital staff told me that Earl used the ambulances to get him from point A to point B, but he reached out for help the best way he knew how.

“They were tired of seeing him at the hospital.”

But she said: “He is in a better place now and he doesn't have to suffer any more.

“The beggars and the mentally ill are seen as a the shame of society or country, but we need to understand that some of these people have mind altering diseases and cannot help themselves.

“We need proper facilities on the Island to deal with these cases.”

Mr. Smith is survived by his mother and father Earl Williams Jr. of New Jersey and two brothers Kevin and Chris Smith.