THE family of Wentworth Graham is now seeking answers from the Spanish Town Hospital, after the chief regulatory officer at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), who was in an almost year-long battle with his employer, was found dead on the Hellshire Beach in St Catherine on Tuesday.

Graham, 48, reportedly discharged himself from the hospital after being rushed there on Saturday as an emergency patient.

Graham’s brother, Neville, Graham, is insisting, that given his medical condition at the time, his younger sibling could not possibly have checked himself out of the institution.

“The hospital certainly has a lot of questions to answer as to how it is — [since] even somebody visiting the hospital has to go through three checkpoints to get to where he was, right in front of the nurses’ station — he could walk from that place and go through all of those checkpoints and come out of the hospital. We just know that it is not possible that he could have checked out himself. It is just not. Show us the document he signed, show us the intention as to what he wanted to do,” Graham told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

He said his brother was rushed to the Accident and emergency Department the Spanish Town Hospital late Saturday night, and was admitted to a ward the following day, at which time the family was advised that he would be monitored and evaluated by Tuesday.

However, Graham said he received a call from his sister-in-law on Monday afternoon, who stated that she had received a call that her husband had “checked himself out” of the hospital. He said the family immediately took action and began a search of the Lake’s Pen area of St Catherine, where it was reported that he was last seen.

Graham said for two days the family carried out an extensive search of several areas of Portmore, including the Hellshire Beach, which was a favourite recreational area of his brother, but turned up nothing. He noted the police were not involved in the search and that a corporal at Spanish Town Police Station had expressed “the will” to assist. Graham’s body was found on Tuesday, but a positive identification was not made until Wednesday. His brother said the family has not discussed the issue at length up to this point with the hospital authorities, but had “warned” that the family finds it “passing strange that anyone could just up and discharge themselves”.

Graham said the police investigation is still at a preliminary stage and that the family has not formed any opinion as to his cause of death. He noted, too, that they had been advised that the autopsy could take up to six weeks, but that they are hopeful that it will be expedited to allow the family to bring the matter to an end as quickly as possible.

Senior medical officer (SMO) at Spanish Town Hospital, Dr Ediel Brown told the Observer yesterday that the institution cannot force a patient to remain in hospital.

“For the person to sign out themselves, I’m assuming that this is someone who is in their right state of mind. Usually if someone signs the form that is provided through the Ministry of Health, if any patient is desirous of signing themselves out, then the institution cannot keep them against their will. If there is reasonable doubt about the person’s mental capacity to make an informed decision, and we figure it’s going to be detrimental, and if we have concerns, then the next of kin would be contacted,” he explained.

Dr Brown said if there is no next of kin then the police are sometimes contacted for assistance to locate relatives. He added that there is usually a discussion between patient and doctor, so that the institution cannot be held liable if the patient chooses to discharge him/herself.

He noted, however, that a distinction is made between individuals absconding from the facility, such as people with mental illnesses who do not have the capacity to sign themselves out, and individuals discharging themselves.

The SMO said he had received a call from a family member, who demanded to know the whereabouts of Wentworth Graham. The SMO said the hospital is now carrying out its own internal investigations.

“So I really don’t know if he signed a form to say he discharged himself or if he absconded, they are two different things,” he said.

Yesterday, Graham said the family was saddened by the tragic turn of events, which comes after an arduous 10-month court battle with the JSE.

In April, the chief regulatory officer filed a claim against the JSE and its managing director Marlene Street Forrest in the Supreme Court alleging breaches of his employment contract, and sought through the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) to block a suspension which the JSE sought to impose in January, as well as any other actions that could be taken against him.

The Supreme Court did not grant the injunction to stop a disciplinary hearing against him pending the outcome of the IDT’s review, and in September the Court of Appeal agreed with that decision.

His older brother said Graham was clearly deeply affected by the legal wrangling with his employer.

“He was one who was always saying that all he wanted to do was to be allowed to do his job. The last long conversation we had with him on Saturday, he was really saying, ‘I can’t see why I’m being hounded and persecuted to the point that I was, and all I was doing was my job’ his brother told the Observer.

Graham had been employed to the JSE since 2001, and was promoted to chief regulatory officer for the Regulatory and Market Oversight Division on April 1, 2008.

The Court of Appeal noted in its written judgement that, in performing his duties, Graham was vested with the power to raise matters of concern without fear of reprisal or conflict of interest.

“The appellant was not only promoted, but in a letter dated 12 December 2016, received commendation for the quality of his work. The JSE’s expressions of gratitude to the appellant for his hard work and contribution, which positively impacted the company’s excellent performance for 2016, transformed that same month to questions being raised about his efficacy. This drastic transformation seemingly coincided with the appellant’s persistence in requiring the JSE to submit an amended report for the shareholding of its directors, senior managers and their connected parties,” the court said.

It stated further that Graham’s letter had apparently “incurred the wrath” of his superiors and resulted in their “swift and sudden diminished view” of his performance.