Montserratian Denied UK Medical Aid Dies
Robert Baker, a 63-year-old dual citizen of Montserrat and Jamaica, died on October 17, 2025, after seeking treatment in Jamaica that was not available on Montserrat. Family and former Montserrat premier Donaldson Romeo are calling for urgent reform of UK policies on healthcare support for British Overseas Territory (BOT) citizens, saying current arrangements are fragmented and leave vulnerable patients without help.
Robert Baker, 63, a dual citizen of Montserrat and Jamaica, died on Friday, October 17, 2025, after travelling to Jamaica for treatment for blackouts and a stomach tumour that he could not get on Montserrat. Baker’s family say he underwent surgery in Montego Bay but endured extremely poor conditions while hospital facilities were under renovation.
He told The Guardian he was discharged, then forced to return when complications arose and was kept on chairs for nearly two weeks because no beds were available. He was fed intravenously and, in the week before his death, the family said they had exhausted their resources and could no longer afford expensive medication.
Baker’s partner, Cynthia Brooks, urged better treatment for Montserratians, saying: “If only they [had] listened to the cry of Robert Baker … asking for help to go to England for better healthcare, he would be with us today.” Her plea highlights wider frustration across the Overseas Territories about access to specialist medical care.
Donaldson Romeo MP, a former Montserrat premier who lobbied on Baker’s behalf, has described the UK’s approach to healthcare support for BOT citizens as “flawed, fragmented and poorly aligned.” Romeo said he was told by officials that the UK does not ordinarily provide consular support to dual nationals who are in their second country of nationality.
He also criticised a UK Department of Health arrangement that allows five to ten BOT citizens per territory each year to be treated on the NHS — a scheme that requires the BOT government to make referrals and for patients to cover travel, accommodation and subsistence costs. Romeo argued Baker would not have met the criteria required by that scheme, which he called “inadequate in relation to the scale of need” and capable of producing “predictable harm and, in some cases, loss of life.” In a recent letter to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office he asked whether similar treatment would be tolerated in British jurisdiction, including detention centres.
The case follows other troubling incidents reported in UK media, including a Montserratian who slept rough in Kent while awaiting NHS care. For BVI residents the story underlines shared vulnerabilities across the smaller territories: limited specialist services at home, reliance on costly overseas referrals, and uncertainty over who bears the cost when urgent care is needed abroad.
Advocates including Romeo are urging UK MPs to review and reform healthcare access for BOT citizens so that British nationality carries equal access to dignity and necessary medical treatment. The Guardian has reported on the case and contacted the Jamaican government for comment.
Primary source: VINO