The BBC reports on a case of size-discrimination in health care from across the pond. Gary Barton is a 6-foot 6-inch father of four who weighs in at about 266 pounds. The former steelworker is registered disabled, suffers from diabetes, arthritis and peripheral neuropathy, which means he has no feeling in his feet or lower legs and walks with a cane. He went for an MRI scan at his local Good Hope Hospital, where he was given headphones during the procedure. The two female radiologists didn’t turn off the intercom and this is what Barton heard:
“I got up onto the table on my own no problems but once I was up there they were getting me to move around a bit. I’m not too bad but I do suffer with arthritis so I wasn’t exactly jumping around,” he explained. “They gave me headphones to relax me but I think they forgot to turn the intercom off because I could still hear them chatting.”
“The nurse said, ‘Oooh, that was a bit of a struggle wasn’t it’, and the radiographer said, ‘Yeah, I thought he was going to break the bed’. I was stunned and immediately shouted, ‘I heard that’.”
Mr Barton said the embarrased radiographer apologised but her colleague “was in fits of laughter”.
He added: “It is outrageous and it isn’t what you expect from medical staff. I won’t lie, I wasn’t too hurt and upset and I can see the funny side of it but I was shocked by how unprofessional and vindictive the staff were. I’m not as big as they made out and even if I was, you expect a certain level of care from medical practitioners, not scorn. That hospital ought to be called No Hope, not Good Hope.”
Barton rightfully complained to the hospital and in a letter to him, the trust said it apologized “unreservedly” for the incident and that “The member of staff involved deeply regrets having made the comments and is fully aware that her behaviour was both totally inappropriate and professionally unacceptable.” The radiographer would have faced disciplinary proceedings but Barton insisted that no further action be taken against her.
First, Do No Harm 
anniemcphee
/ June 18, 2008I thought the worst part was that they actually said they thought he’d break the bed, the “fat f**k”?
J.S.
/ June 18, 2008With every article I read, every emailed commentary, I am amazed at the disdain shown by SOME in the medical professions toward the fat, old, poor, disabled, sick, and unattractive. What in heaven’s name drew these people into a helping profession? Are they really so shocked when asked to HELP someone who needs it?
cynth
/ June 18, 2008anniemcphee that is what I read too.
That story is here http://tinyurl.com/4mf4wv
Anonymous
/ June 18, 2008Good lord that is awful. I am a “mere” 6ft and weigh that and I don’t look nearly that fat. He can’t have looked worse, being 6 inches taller than me! I see with friends/family who weight less but are shorter than me, they look bigger than me. No big deal….but that is just wrong.
Shame Shame Shame on them!!!
Rachel
/ June 18, 2008Hmm, I wonder why the BBC didn’t make known there was also an expletive involved. Why didn’t they write “…followed by an expletive.” I’ve seen this done in many a reputable newspaper before.
Emma
/ August 13, 2008That hospital is my nearest emergency unit and its reputation is so bad that its local nickname is No Hope. I know many people who’ve had problems there – me included (many years ago, I had an endoscopy, and woke up in the middle of the procedure; turns out I’m resistant to anasthaesia, which wasn’t known at the time – but if they’d been monitoring me properly, surely they’d have noticed before I woke up completely and started thrashing round in a panic?). Useless gits.