THE family of Novelette Cooper, the retired teacher who died after allegedly hitting her head at Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St James last week, is to meet with the management of the facility on Friday.

An investigation into the death of the 54-year-old woman, who was reportedly forced to sit on a chair for two days before collapsing, is said to be under way.

Moments after her fall, doctors declared her brain-dead.

She died days later.

“They called us to say they would like to meet on Friday because they don’t want what happened to her to happen to anybody else. So that means that they know all wasn’t well and that something did happen to cause her death,” Cooper’s brother, Courtney Williams told the Jamaica Observer.

CRH Chief Executive Officer Charmaine Beckford, when contacted, said she was unable to provide an update on the matter because of “patient confidentiality”.

She said the investigation is continuing.

Cooper had been taken to the Type A facility in the western end of the island by family members on July 27 at approximately 10:00 am, after reportedly suffering an asthma attack.

She required treatment by nebuliser, Williams told the Observer.

However, doctors, he said, determined that she needed to be admitted for further assessment despite a shortage of beds, the man claimed.

As a result, he said, Cooper, who only returned to the island two years ago having lived and worked in The Bahamas for years, was made to sit in a chair, where she remained until the time she fell and hit her head two Wednesdays ago.

She succumbed to her injury the following Sunday.

— Kimone Francis