FROM he was a baby, Yakeev Morris — the medical intern who collapsed and died while on duty last year — declared he would be a doctor, his sister Ornella Morris said.

But Ornella, her parents and siblings are incensed and fuming over what she has described as a slap in the face from the country that her brother was passionate about serving.

The deceased 26-year-old doctor, affectionately known as Foska by his peers and Bop-Bop by his family, was a medical intern assigned to Annotto Bay Hospital in St Mary.

After spending a month at Annotto Bay, the young doctor met his demise while accompanying a clinical team during the transfer of a neonate from the paediatric ward to the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew on August 12, 2020.

Now, almost one year later, his family has received no report regarding the circumstances of his death.

“We have received no report from no one. Neither have we gotten back the results for the cause of death as yet… still pending, the last time I checked. No one has contacted us in regards to anything. It’s just like nothing happened,” Ornella told the Jamaica Observer while remembering the fond times with her brother, the youngest of five children.

But Morris said she is not giving up and is determined to get answers, if even for peace of mind.

“I definitely will not be giving up. They took the samples [when] the autopsy was done, say they sent it overseas to get tested and it’s almost about a year now and nothing. Very ridiculous. The hospital, ministry, nobody has contacted any of us from my brother went into the ground. It’s a joke, because I at least thought since he died on their terms, some interest would have [been] given. He was a government worker and this is how they treat him? Like he wasn’t important,” Morris said.

Further, Morris said her mother is having difficulty coping with the loss and the lack of knowledge regarding her ‘baby’s’ death.

“Gosh! She cries every day and what makes it worse is the fact that she hasn’t received closure. We have to use memories to cheer her up — stuff he used to do or say — and we go by his grave to talk to him since he’s right in the backyard, which makes it more comforting,” Ornalla said.

Additionally, she said her brother’s death has affected her daughter and nephew who both admired him and sought academic assistance from him.

“My brother loved kids. Hence, the reason he ended up in the pedi [paediatric] ward. I guess he always thought he wanted to help them. He was my daughter and my nephew’s biggest inspiration, because he spoiled them rotten. He was teacher — uncle…

“My daughter misses him a lot because he was her rock. My nephew is not [doing] so good because he used to be the one to help him with homework every evening, and now that’s missing. But, he told me the other day he will follow in his uncle’s footstep and be the next doctor, the same with my daughter,” she said.

Moreover, Ornella said, though she is trying to be strong for her family, closure is needed.

“The fact [is] that he was so passionate about life. He was always so confident in whatever he does, he always teased me that he’s better at everything. He was my little headache. The most hurt we feel right now is the fact that no one cares about what happened to him. Closure is what we need. The family deserves to know. He worked his a** off and he was passionate about what he was doing and gave his all. The least he could have gotten is the respect he deserves,” she said.

Meanwhile, regional director for the North East Regional Health Authority Dr Patrick Wheatle told the Sunday Observer that it is a coroner’s case, which means that even though it happened in the health sector, the police are the ones doing the investigation.

“That belongs to another ministry. Their pathologist would do the post-mortem and the police would represent the coroner, so where health is concerned it wouldn’t be us. You wouldn’t’t get these type of information through health,” he said.

Senior communications strategist of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Dennis Brooks said he would look into the matter and provide an update soonest.