A woman whose schizophrenic son has been left without his full course of medication is complaining that she’s receiving the silent treatment from the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB).

“It’s not fair to him — and I can’t understand why I can’t get an explanation,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be revealed to protect her son’s identity.

Unable to work, her son occasionally stays with family in the US for ten-week stints, she said, and has in the past has been able to secure a full regimen of the medicine he needs to keep his symptoms at bay.

Two weeks ago, however, she was informed by MWI that only a month’s course of medication would be available this time.

Her son, whose trip was already booked, subsequently travelled for a two-and-a-half month stay in the US.

“The doctor at MWI told us that when he runs out, he should just go to a hospital or a clinic over there and buy it,” the woman told The Royal Gazette. “But we need it to be covered under his insurance.

“Every time I ask I don’t get an answer. Even the case worker from the Mid-Atlantic Institute who is supposed to check on him hasn’t called me back.”

The medications include the antipsychotic drug Olanzapine, and Citralopram, which is prescribed for depression and panic attacks.

The woman said her son has been on medication for about ten years and had an “excellent” record of looking after his own intake.

“Before he took that medication, he was keeping me up all hours of the night, seeing things and hearing things — he used to think I was down in the water tank; he was just off it,” she recalled.

“The medication has calmed him down. I think once he missed it and had a serious headache.

“But even though he’s with family, the thought of him being out there for an extra month and a half without medication has been keeping me awake.

“I’ve called the hospital and called quality improvement and nobody has gotten back to me.”

BHB is aware of the issue and formulating a response — but the woman who contacted this newspaper said she couldn’t understand why after more than a week of calls, she’s yet to hear back from the hospital.

“They’re dealing with people who are sick and need help,” she said. “I am a mother making sure everything is being done — but what about patients who don’t have family members to help them? What happens to them?

“My son is 26 years old — he’s a pretty young boy and he will be taking this medication for the rest of his life. We need answers.”

Schizophrenia typically strikes during young adulthood but for those who respond to medical treatment, antipsychotic drugs often prove effective in suppressing the worst symptoms.

A comeback for this story from BHB was not available by press time last night.