'There's no butler here': Hospital refuses to help 86-year-old pensioner in wheelchair

Wanting to visit her husband hospitalized at the hospital of Périgueux in Dordogne, Marie-Claire, aged 86 and in a wheelchair, could not find a disabled place available. On returning home, she calls the hospital, the operator tells her to go away.

It is a sad day for Marie-Claire. This 86-year-old pensioner with a disability simply wanted to visit her 91-year-old partner, who was hospitalized at the Périgueux hospital in Dordogne.

No disabled parking space available

When she arrived at the car park, the pensioner struggled to find a disabled parking space, as there were none available. She had to park far from the entrance, “and I'm not an athlete, so as soon as there's a slope, I can't get over the obstacle. My friend has to push my wheelchair. But since he's the one in the bed, well, I find myself all alone”, she confided to France Bleu.

Marie-Claire saw herself turning around because no one came to help her. After 100 kilometers of driving in the wind, sad not to have been able to see her companion, she calls the hospital when she arrives home.

“There is no butler here”

“Isn't there someone at the hospital I can call to come and help me ?” she asks before someone curtly replies: “There's no butler here”. “I didn't think I was in a 3-star hotel either” the lady confides to our colleagues, laughing bitterly. She has been in a wheelchair for 40 years, she is “accustomed” to daily discrimination.

“Of course it's violent, she adds. What did you want me to tell him?? If I had gotten angry, I would have told him: “Wait until there's someone like me in your circle, you'll see what it feels like”.

The hospital responds

Majid Tkoub, Director of Legal Affairs, Users, Risks and Quality at the Périgueux hospital responded to France Bleu: “There have been no other complaints of the same type for a very long time” he said.

He explained that a complaints procedure existed, and that Marie-Claire could have used it, “if it turns out that there was an improper exchange, there would obviously be a necessary reminder”.

He ended by stating that there are no plans to build new disabled spaces at the moment. And ensures that the hospital complies with regulations, despite the "incivility" of some.