Calypsonian Morrel ’Luta’ Peters said yesterday he was not satisfied with the level of care his fellow calypsonian, Anthony ’Almanac’ Francis, received when he went to the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) for medical attention after falling ill last month.

Peters made the comment at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Independence Square, Port of Spain, yesterday, moments after he attended a funeral service for Francis.

Peters told the Express his friend was not treated properly while at the hospital and this ’bothered’ him.

’Up to the time of his ( Francis’s) death, they had not yet completed his diagnosis... what they were saying was that he should come back to do a scan as an outpatient, but the scan never took place, so up to the time of his demise, they were not sure what (the problem) was.

’They even wanted to discharge him at one point, even though he was weak and lived alone and had no one to go home to,’ Peters said.

Peters said he was the one who transported Francis to the hospital when he started feeling unwell on October 26. He passed away on November 6 while warded at the PoSGH.

He said he visited Francis regularly while he was at hospital, along with fellow friend and calypsonian Errol ’Bally’ Ballantyne.

Peters, who had earlier addressed mourners, fought back tears as he reminisced about the times he shared with Francis.

Ballantyne told the Express yesterday a post-mortem conducted on Francis revealed he had pancreatic cancer.

He said the doctor dealing with Francis’s case had suspected he had some form of cancer and a second test was to be done to confirm his condition. But the test never came off because ’the machine to do the test had broken down or something of that sort’.

’He passed away and never had the test. But I am not blaming the nurses at the hospital, but the inadequacies at the hospital. They have to work with the limited resources they have. The doctor was, however, very professional,’ Ballantyne said.

Members of the calypso fraternity yesterday turned out in their numbers to pay their last respects to Francis, who was praised for his contribution to the calypso art form.

Dr Hollis ’Chalkdust’ Liverpool, who also addressed mourners, said even though Francis was visually impaired, he was a man with ’great vision’ and knowledge.

Visually impaired ex-tempo king Lingo also paid tribute to Francis in song, and credited him with laying down the foundation for artistes like himself. ’He was like a father to me,’ Lingo said.

Francis’s signature tune, ’Build a Better World’, blasted from speakers following the service at the church yesterday.