Canadian woman dies after falling sick during trip to Jamaica where she developed sepsis and pneumonia after being told there was ‘no room’ for her in hometown hospital

A Canadian woman has died after she became ill during her vacation to Jamaica and returned home only to be turned away from two local hospitals.

Kelly Beckerley-Murphy, 65, traveled to Jamaica for a week-long holiday with her best friend.

In an unfortunate twist – shortly after the couple arrived on Sunday, Beckerley began having trouble breathing and was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Montego Bay.

While en route to the hospital, the 65-year-old suffered from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, her daughter Shannon Horner said.

Beckerley was resuscitated but was left unconscious in a hospital bed in Jamaica as she waited to be transported back home to St. Catharines.

While en route to the hospital, Beckerley (pictured right) suffered breathing problems and cardiac arrest, said her daughter Shannon Horner (pictured left).

During her more than week-long stay in the hospital, Beckerley developed pneumonia, blood poisoning and a “horrible bedsore,” her daughter said.

The 65-year-old’s family was told by her insurance company, CAA Niagara, that there were no beds available in Ontario to accommodate her.

However, both Niagara Health and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said there were beds available in these facilities.

A bed was eventually found for Beckerley-Murphy at St. Catharines Hospital, where she was admitted on April 16.

Beckerley tragically died late Thursday night at a local hospital surrounded by her family.

Horner said her mother “should have been home eight days earlier.”

“That’s eight days that our family will never get back,” she said.

Horner wonders if things might have turned out differently if her mother had been able to return to Canada sooner.

‘It’s terrible. It’s a terrible tragedy,” Horner told the BBC St. Catharines Standard.

Horner previously had one GoFundMe to rally support and bring her mother to Canada while she was stuck in the Jamaican hospital. The GoFundMe has raised $2,760 and received 37 donations.

According to what Horner wrote on the GoFundMe, they managed to send Beckerley’s husband Ted to Jamaica to “stand by her side and advocate for her.”

Beckerley tragically died late Thursday night at a local hospital surrounded by her family

The most recent update shared on GoFundMe was from April 20. It read: “My mother is currently back from Jamaica and is in a stable but critical condition.

“She is currently on a ventilator and in a coma. She went into cardiac arrest due to breathing problems in the ambulance on the way to Jamaica.

‘They are concerned about cognitive function because of the lack of oxygen during this period. My mother hasn’t regained consciousness since then.’

Situations like Beckerley’s are far too common, according to Will McAleer, executive director of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIAC).

McAleer said most incidents go unreported when Canadians become sick and find themselves stuck in foreign hospitals with no indication of when they can return home.

“We don’t think this is an equivalent level of accessibility that we would expect under universal health care,” he said.

St. Catharines Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Jennie Stevens said she plans to take action after learning of Beckerley’s case.

“The end of life is such a crucial part of saying goodbye and healing with your family,” she said.