TVDE driver carries 90-year-old woman into Cascais hospital after wheelchair ‘refused’ – Portugal Resident
An absolutely shocking video has made it into the news pages today, showing a 90-year-old woman being physically carried into Cascais Hospital by a TVDE driver because staff there refused to allow the woman, arriving for a programmed consultation, to use a hospital wheelchair.
The “surreal incident”, as described over social media, played out when there were reportedly “five completely empty wheelchairs available on site”.
Correio da Manhã has picked up the story, adding that “upon arriving at (hospital consultations, the young driver) was warned that this was not the most appropriate way to transport patients, and was then informed that the services would provide a wheelchair, which eventually happened.”
Amplifying the surreality of the situation, Correio da Manhã reports that hospital manager Tiago Silva told the paper that “Cascais Hospital followed defined procedures”.
What appears to have happened is that a wheelchair was initially requested at the space for consultations, which referred the woman’s female companion to the A&E department. But when a wheelchair was taken from the A&E department outside, to the carpark where the elderly woman with very reduced mobility awaited, a member of hospital staff exited the building to say the wheelchair had to be returned, and could not be used.
Had the TVDE driver (working for a ride-hailing platform) not taken matters into his own hands, the woman would almost certainly have missed her appointment.
And had no one had the nouse to film what happened, the wider country might never have heard about what it.
Denouncing “senseless rules”, and expressing “our deepest admiration for this driver, who went far beyond his professional duty”, social media sites have urged people to “share this post so that this case is not forgotten, and reaches those responsible!”.
Source material: Correio da Manhã/ Facebook
