A FAMILY is demanding an urgent investigation into medical facilities at a Caribbean airport after the death of their mother.

Olga Stewart, 69, died while being taken to hospital by taxi after failing to get medical attention at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados.

She is the third tourist to die in the past year after falling ill at the airport.

Mrs Stewart, who was known as Gloria to friends and family, was preparing to fly home when she fell ill opposite the airport's arrival hall.

The diabetes and asthma sufferer began to experience breathing difficulties.

Seeing the retired nurse's condition deteriorating before them, Mrs Stewart's two friends Gladys Peart, 67, and her daughter Barbara, 41, frantically searched the airport for help.

When they did find the nurses' station it was empty.

A holiday rep advised them to take Mrs Stewart to Queen Elizabeth Hospital - an hour away in the capital city of Bridgetown.

They were told to put her in a taxi because it would take too long for an ambulance to arrive.

Police were asked to provide the taxi with an escort so it could get through traffic more quickly.

But the taxi driver left before the police escort.

The grandmother-of-two died en route - around an hour after falling ill.

Three weeks after her death, her family is demanding answers from the Barbados High Commission.

Mrs Stewart was returning home to Bethel Road, Welling, after a two-week Caribbean cruise.

Her daughter Sharon Stewart, 44, of Felixstowe Road, Abbey Wood, said: "The worst thing is, my mother knew she was dying.

"She desperately needed oxygen, but none was provided at the airport.

"I think she died of a heart attack in the end."

She added: "It's a disgrace an international airport does not have more stringent procedures in place to deal with these situations.

"Now my brothers Neil and Mark and myself want the Barbados High Commission to investigate, to see if procedures are in place, and why they were not followed."

The Barbadian newspaper The Nation has reported how the death "marked the third recent occasion of inadequate emergency medical assistance at the airport".

In October, a 67-year-old British tourist died in the check-in area after suffering a heart attack.

And five months earlier, a 30-year-old Irish visitor died in the departure lounge after suffering an asthma attack.

The Stewart family hope their story will send out a warning to British tourists who may use the airport to attend the Cricket World Cup, which starts in Barbados in March.

The Barbados Tourism Authority, which is part of the Barbados High Commission in London, declined to comment.

  • Mrs Stewart's funeral is due to be held at Eltham Park Methodist Church, Westmount Road, on Friday at 11am.