Sickness and mounting medical bills have left two Central pensioners in a bind. The elderly couple-pensioner Molly Ramharack, 70, and her husband Samlal Ramharack, 72-are at their wits' end to make ends meet.
In tears last week, Ramharack recounted how she pleaded with Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, Minister of the People and Social Development, to help them after her husband suffered a massive stroke. Last week, Ramadharsingh visited the couple's Thompson Road, Palmiste, home to hear their concerns.
The elderly woman related how an ambulance failed to show up after her husband suffered a stroke, forcing her to go to a private doctor in Gasparillo where she had to fork out $500 for the visit and a further $1,200 for medication, including injections. The woman said her husband suffered his first stroke in 2003 and was since bedridden. To compound matters, her husband lost his farm a few years ago when the Agricultural Development Bank foreclosed on them.
With tears in her eyes, she told the minister that they lived alone and spent a large chunk of their pension in medication and doctor visits. She said the drugs given by the CDAP programmes helped only with certain ailments.
She also appealed for a nurse to help her care for her husband, since the present one would no longer be with them because of personal reasons. Ramadharsingh, upset about the slow response of the ambulance, promised to help the pensioners.