respond to a call from the family of a dying woman.

The family of 84-year-old Mrs. Eva Stovell were forced to take her to hospital by car, and say they were shocked by the attendant's attitude on arrival at the King Edward VI Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Stovell died 18 hours after being admitted to hospital.

Rev. Silvester Beaman, of St. Paul AME Church, has also expressed concern over the incident and is to meet hospital administrator Mr. Hume Martin on Monday.

The incident occurred on Saturday, May 15, when a nurse at the Matilda Smith Williams Home called for an ambulance to take Mrs. Stovell to hospital.

The nurse claims she was told by the ambulance attendant to make sure that Mrs. Stovell needed to go to hospital by monitoring her further because he did not waste time on unnecessary trips.

Mrs. Stovell called a member of her family to ask if they would phone the ambulance. She was suffering from shortage of breath, which was eventually diagnosed as pneumonia.

One family member said: "I called for an ambulance and the attendant's response was the same. I told him that my mother-in-law would not call me at that hour of the morning if she were not desperate. I knew from the tone of her voice and shortness of breath that she was in trouble.

"It hurt me to have to take her to the hospital in my car but I had no choice since we wanted to avoid any further delay.'' On reaching the hospital the relative said that he had to wait before the attendant came to help them get Mrs. Stovell out of the car.

"He boldly requested that my mother-in-law stand and get out of the car herself,'' he said. "He then turned to me and said: `Oh, this is the lady from the home.' By this time my mother-in-law was exhausted.

"Instead of carrying her to the nurses' station, the attendant instructed my wife to wheel her to the reception area.

"Nurses immediately surmised how serious her condition was and promptly administered oxygen. She was admitted and 18 hours after she entered the hospital my mother-in-law died.'' In a letter to Mr. Martin, the relative said: "The attendant's refusal to respond seems to suggest that the welfare of the elderly is of less importance than that of other members of the community.

"We would have liked for our loved one to have received the same respect and care that was given to the young motorcycle rider who was brought into the emergency room that same morning.

"We expect the totally unconscionable and indeed life-endangering behaviour of the attendant to receive your immediate attention.'' Mrs. Stovell's granddaughter Ms Janet Smith said: "There is no excuse. If you call an ambulance it is supposed to come.'' Grandson Mr. Richie Latham said that he had been told by the hospital that there would be an internal inquiry but Mr. Latham said the family had a right to know what happened.

Hospital administrator Mr. Martin said the family would be informed of any decision. "There are two different accounts of the events and we will be speaking to the people involved early next week,'' he said.

"The fact that they brought the individual into the hospital a couple of hours after the call had no effect on her well-being. The family has made no suggestion of that.''