There Is A Word For Some People, And That Word Begins With The Letter C

[Paul]

There is a woman at my dialysis centre for whom knackered kidneys are only one of her problems. Amongst her many medical ills, she is paralyzed from the waist down, so needs a wheelchair to move about. She arrives at dialysis in her own wheelchair but there is no room for it between her bed and the next without it getting in the way of the nurses, so as soon as she is on the dialysis bed her wheelchair is moved to the corner of the back ward where the dialysis chair mattresses are kept.

Friday, when the nurse went to fetch it for her after dialysis, some **** had stolen it!

It was obviously a deliberate and planned theft, not a crime of opportunity, because there is a whole load of wheelchairs in the waiting room, and the waiting room door opens out into the car parking area with no security whatsoever. If someone just wanted a wheelchair one of these would have been easier. To steal the patient's wheelchair they would have had to push it out of the back ward, across the main ward, along a corridor, past two of the private rooms, past the manager's office, past the store room, past the toilets, and across the waiting room to the door. However, of course, the "easy to steal" hospital wheelchairs are basic, cheapest serviceable, wheelchairs. But the patient is in her wheelchair for much of her waking day, so she bought herself a good quality, expensive wheelchair, a much better prize for the thief.

What sort of person steals a disabled person's wheelchair while they are having important medical treatment?

I have no idea if God exists or not, but I hope Hell exists so that this complete piece of excrement has somewhere to rot in for all eternity.

 

[Rerun]

That is pretty awful, I have to agree. 

    

[Michael Murphy]

In the US the clinic would be liable since they removed the chair from her control, same principal if a car park takes your keys they are liable for condition of car. Don’t know law in Britain but there is no punishment that is enough to satisfy what should be done. Just curious no building video or parking lot video.  I would check neighboring builds for video if any available.

[Simon Dog]

Not necessarily true.   For example, I don't believe a valet parking service is liable for theft of the car once parked; only for damage while moving the car.

Read up on bailment law.

[Michael Murphy]

At least in New York except for valet services that do not have parking facilities if you hand over control of the car the party with the keys is responsible for the car.  I had a car stolen from a parking facility in New York about 40 years ago and my insurance company took the parking company to court and won.  I sat through a 3 day trial since technically I was the litigant.  Most boring 3 days of my life.

[Paul]

In the US the clinic would be liable since they removed the chair from her control

Similar law in Britain, but before getting any treatment in hospital you have to sign a form which says (among other things) that you will not hold the hospital responsible for any loss while on their premises. So she has no claim against them (although they did lend her a hospital wheelchair until the situation can be resolved).

[kristina]

There is a woman at my dialysis centre for whom knackered kidneys are only one of her problems. Amongst her many medical ills, she is paralyzed from the waist down, so needs a wheelchair to move about. She arrives at dialysis in her own wheelchair but there is no room for it between her bed and the next without it getting in the way of the nurses, so as soon as she is on the dialysis bed her wheelchair is moved to the corner of the back ward where the dialysis chair mattresses are kept.

Friday, when the nurse went to fetch it for her after dialysis, some **** had stolen it!

It was obviously a deliberate and planned theft, not a crime of opportunity, because there is a whole load of wheelchairs in the waiting room, and the waiting room door opens out into the car parking area with no security whatsoever. If someone just wanted a wheelchair one of these would have been easier. To steal the patient's wheelchair they would have had to push it out of the back ward, across the main ward, along a corridor, past two of the private rooms, past the manager's office, past the store room, past the toilets, and across the waiting room to the door. However, of course, the "easy to steal" hospital wheelchairs are basic, cheapest serviceable, wheelchairs. But the patient is in her wheelchair for much of her waking day, so she bought herself a good quality, expensive wheelchair, a much better prize for the thief.

What sort of person steals a disabled person's wheelchair while they are having important medical treatment?

I have no idea if God exists or not, but I hope Hell exists so that this complete piece of excrement has somewhere to rot in for all eternity.

 

Hello Paul, I am so sorry for that unfortunate lady, her faith in humanity is surely shattered beyond repair right now! Who could possibly plan and actually act out a despicable crime like that to a wheelchair-bound person ?
Is there any chance this lady could contact one of those charities who advertise to assist wheelchair-bound-people in need with some practical help i.e. assisting the lady through charity to have access to a permanent wheelchair a.s.a.p.??
(I have just decided not to comment about the person/s who did such an unspeakable detestable crime of the very lowest order, it would end up to be quite unprintable in any case...)
... I feel quite emotional about this because after I had suffered a stroke I was half-sided paralyzed for a while and through that time I needed regular access to a wheelchair and know from experience how life-important the constant access to a wheelchair is if one needs it.
Best wishes from me to this unfortunate lady from Kristina.

[Simon Dog]

In the US the clinic would be liable since they removed the chair from her control

Similar law in Britain, but before getting any treatment in hospital you have to sign a form which says (among other things) that you will not hold the hospital responsible for any loss while on their premises. So she has no claim against them (although they did lend her a hospital wheelchair until the situation can be resolved).

Such waivers may be invalid if contradicted by law.   For example, a US airline is liable for 100% of the cost of lost or damaged medical equipment, and cannot dodge this responsibility by requiring passengers to sign a "not responsible" waiver.

The best remedy in a case like this if the law is not on her side may be a local news reporter interviewing clinic management about their refusal to replace the chair.

[iolaire]

The best remedy in a case like this if the law is not on her side may be a local news reporter interviewing clinic management about their refusal to replace the chair.

+1 good suggestion

Also of course why they choose not secure their immobile client's possessions.

[Charlie B53]

Many 'Waivers' are tossed out by Courts.

Requiring a patient to sign a waiver otherwise refuse life-saving medical treatment?  Court should toss that one in a heartbeat.

[Paul]

You are forgetting one important fact:

Unlike America, the British health service is free. It is sort of like a charity (it is not actually one, it is paid for by the government, but it is seen as similar to one). It is highly respected and so (in most cases) are the people who run it. I doubt that any British court would toss out this waiver. If they did, the cost to the NHS would be so great as other people sued, that people would die from its lack of funds, so a higher court would soon overturn the overturn of the waiver.

Plus, the odds are the press would cover the court case extensively. The NHS is greatly loved by the British public. Once her face had appeared in the papers and on TV news, the patient would have suffered almost countrywide hatred. She would not be able to go out without having total strangers spitting in her face. It would take more than a stolen wheelchair, even an expensive one like this (she has since looked up the cost of a replacement chair, it is close on the equivalent of five hundred dollars) to be worth putting up with that.

[GA_DAWG]

To me, the important point would seem to be that whoever stole the chair, must another patient or acquaintance of another patient. It is not likely someone just wandered into a dialysis clinic and stole a wheelchair.

[Paul]

To me, the important point would seem to be that whoever stole the chair, must another patient or acquaintance of another patient. It is not likely someone just wandered into a dialysis clinic and stole a wheelchair.

Oh yes, that is the popular theory. We think we know who it was, because someone in a private room saw the chair being pushed out, they had dropped their bell so could not call a nurse, so by the time they could alert someone it was too late. However, although they did not know the patient, one thing they said about them could fit only one person on dialysis at that time.

[Michael Murphy]

Start a story around the police have obtained a witness and are searching the building video and when it turns up a match there will be arrests.  Additionally have the witness questioned by the police when the suspect is there they can use her discription to question suspects.   If nothing else it should cause the culprit to crap in his pants.  Once I had my Jeep broken in behind my apartment all that was taken was a sheepskin coat, I started a story in the complex that my 5000 dollar company laptop was also gone.  The moron called the cops and told them there was no laptop, the cops had a picture of my coat and spotted it in the idiots apartment my name was on the tag, as he was  hauled off I calmly waived the laptop to show I stilled had it.  When the cops came over I told them what I did they laughed and I told them I never left the lap top any where the cost was so high since network generals sniffer software and network card was on the box.  I used that box for a year transferred and my replacement had it for one day left it in a computer room and it was stolen. 

[GA_DAWG]

Michael, I have a friend who was sheriff of a pretty large county. He used to say he did not have a jail full of criminals, he had a jail full of stupid people.

[kristina]

You are forgetting one important fact:

Unlike America, the British health service is free. It is sort of like a charity (it is not actually one, it is paid for by the government, but it is seen as similar to one). It is highly respected and so (in most cases) are the people who run it. I doubt that any British court would toss out this waiver. If they did, the cost to the NHS would be so great as other people sued, that people would die from its lack of funds, so a higher court would soon overturn the overturn of the waiver.

Hello Paul, I beg to differ : The British Health Service (NHS) is not a sort of charity and is only indirectly paid for by the government because it is actually being paid for by the taxpayer and every patient is being given the best possible chance and medics within the National Health Service are truly giving their very best to the best of their knowledge. This is as ideal a situation as any civilized society could possibly think of giving their civilized best to unfortunates who hit hard times by becoming very unwell and are in need of medical attention and I am very, very grateful because without the NHS and dedicated medics within the NHS I would not be alive any longer !

[Paul]

Hello Paul, I beg to differ : The British Health Service (NHS) is not a sort of charity

I was simplifying for non-British readers.

is only indirectly paid for by the government because it is actually being paid for by the taxpayer

Well, in that absolutely everything the government "pays for" comes out of taxes, yes. However I'm assuming you mean NI. NI only covers an infinitesimally small part of the cost, most comes from the general tax pool (income tax, VAT, etc). I remember an interview on the radio with the minister for health (not the current one, nor the one before, and possibly well before that, it was many years ago). He said that the most annoying thing about the job was that most people paid their NI and assumed they had paid their share of funding the NHS when in fact they had not, and the amount of money he (minister of health) had to spend on the NHS depended entirely on how much the chancellor of the exchequer gave him.

every patient is being given the best possible chance and medics within the National Health Service are truly giving their very best to the best of their knowledge........without the NHS and dedicated medics within the NHS I would not be alive any longer !

I'm not sure why you are disagreeing with me because that was sort of the point I was making (although your wording is a little over the top and unrealistic). The NHS is not as great as you infer, but it is the best possible considering the funds the current chancellor gives it.

[kristina]

Hello Paul, I beg to differ : The British Health Service (NHS) is not a sort of charity

I was simplifying for non-British readers.

is only indirectly paid for by the government because it is actually being paid for by the taxpayer

Well, in that absolutely everything the government "pays for" comes out of taxes, yes. However I'm assuming you mean NI. NI only covers an infinitesimally small part of the cost, most comes from the general tax pool (income tax, VAT, etc). I remember an interview on the radio with the minister for health (not the current one, nor the one before, and possibly well before that, it was many years ago). He said that the most annoying thing about the job was that most people paid their NI and assumed they had paid their share of funding the NHS when in fact they had not, and the amount of money he (minister of health) had to spend on the NHS depended entirely on how much the chancellor of the exchequer gave him.

every patient is being given the best possible chance and medics within the National Health Service are truly giving their very best to the best of their knowledge........without the NHS and dedicated medics within the NHS I would not be alive any longer !

I'm not sure why you are disagreeing with me because that was sort of the point I was making (although your wording is a little over the top and unrealistic). The NHS is not as great as you infer, but it is the best possible considering the funds the current chancellor gives it.

Hello Paul,
Obviously the NHS is perceived by different people differently. Perhaps I am "going a little over the top" as you say, but I was extremely lucky so far (let's hope it continues that way) and I have reasons to be extremely grateful because for example my life was saved by a top surgeon when I suffered two cerebral hemorrhages and I was at that time the only patient to not only survive these two life-dangerous operations, but I was also able to survive with my "grey cells" not being compromised and remaining untouched and that is truly something to celebrate...
Apart from this, I stand corrected and agree with what you say...
Best wishes and good luck from Kristina.

[Riki]

I think there could be similar conversations about the Canadian heath care system.  It's similar that it is a government funded system, and I'm not sure if there are any more similarities besides that one.  Anyway, I think whether it's a great institution or a huge turd pile is in the eye of the beholder.

Paul, any updates on the wheelchair thief?

[Paul]

Paul, any updates on the wheelchair thief?

Yes there is. Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday after dialysis, but forgot. She has got her chair back. The thief is claiming it was all a mistake and he did not realise that the chair was owned by a patient. However, even if that is true he was still taking a wheelchair that did not belong to him (if he really thought it did not belong to the patient he must have assumed it belonged to the hospital). Also, the wheelchair was covered in personal stickers, including ones which said "property of ....." so if he really did not know it belonged to a patient, he was an idiot (I suppose, in that he knew he was stealing someone's property he may not have examined it carefully in his hurry to get out of the hospital quickly, but if so that confirms it was deliberate theft and not a mistake as he claims).

I have no details other than that, I am guessing that someone somewhere helped get it back by behaving in a way that would be detrimental to their job if the information became public, so I am not pushing for details. But the important fact is that the patient now has her wheelchair back.

[iolaire]

That’s good news.