Injured BK supervisor reportedly transferred to UHWI, recovering well
Published:Thursday | September 19, 2024 | 8:25 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter -
Kerry-Ann Folkes, the supervisor at the New Kingston branch of the local Burger King franchise and who had suffered serious injuries in an explosion at the fast food outlet, has been transferred from the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) to the University Hospital of the West Indies. She is said to be recovering well.
Folkes is one of two Burger King employees who were seriously injured in last week Wednesday morning’s blast and were admitted to KPH for treatment. Four other employees were treated and discharged on the same day of the explosion that was caused by a gas leak.
The other seriously injured employee had accepted an offer to be transferred to the Tony Thwaites Wing of the UHWI.
Lisa Lake, chief executive officer of Restaurant Associates Ltd (RAL), operators of Burger King in Jamaica, in providing an update on Folkes, said this past Tuesday that she was making progress and that some of her co-workers had visited her.
Folkes’ family had last Friday stated publicly that they wanted her to receive treatment overseas and had expressed displeasure with RAL’s handling of the situation.
Folkes’ sister, Renay Folkes Johnson, claimed RAL was stalling efforts to get her sister overseas with unnecessary bureaucratic demands and policies.
She told the media that the family had made all the arrangements to airlift her sister overseas but was waiting on RAL to release close to US$69,000 to cover the cost for the air ambulance.
She said the company was asking for a letter from Folkes’ doctor recommending overseas treatment but noted that emergency care for her sibling should take precedence, as she believed the paperwork could be sorted out later.
Folkes Johnson had also rejected an offer from RAL to transfer her sister to the Tony Thwaites Wing, arguing that she would not accept “sub-optimal” treatment.
“We refuse to take suboptimal care which is offered to us. We need her in the best facility, and that is non-negotiable.
“I will not wait and if my sister does not get the assistance that she needs right now and if any further deterioration happens, I will hold them accountable. This is now life and death, and I will not sit down any further,” Folkes Johnson had said.
However, shortly after the family's declaration on Friday, Lake, said in a statement that the company had informed the family that it was prepared to facilitate the necessary medical transfer overseas but had asked for certain documents which were not forth coming.
“We are very saddened to hear that Ms Folkes’ family is of the view that they have not been offered support by Burger King. To the contrary, we have been communicating to them that no expense would be spared to implement the doctors’ recommendations for her recovery, including overseas treatment,” Lake said then.
The RAL CEO, in her statement on Friday, insisted, “We can only act on medical advice in order to ensure that it is both recommended and safe for her to travel and are eagerly awaiting same to be presented to us by the family in order to maintain the doctor-patient confidentiality.”
KPH, in a subsequent release, said a team of consultant plastic surgeons has confirmed that the two burn victims were expected to recover fully.
It had also noted that the hospital is equipped to manage a wide range of burn injuries, from first- and second-degree burns to some more severe cases requiring advanced interventions.
The hospital said further that, in cases where it is unable to meet the specialised care of the patient, a referral to other institutions can be provided.