Hospital that accused a teetotal pensioner of being drunk at an appointment has revoked the letter from his record
Chris White, 83, was left mortified after he received a letter describing how he had a ‘strong smell of alcohol’ while attending an appointment at Solihull Hospital in December 2013.
Chris, who said he never touched a drop of drink in his life, has now had the doctor’s statement removed from his medical record after a campaign by the Birmingham Mail. In a letter to Mr White and his wife Margaret, 67, on 28th February, the hospital said that the letter from doctor had now been recanted and destroyed because of inaccuracy but despite the relief of getting the letter removed, wife Margaret who suffers with anxiety, told how she has been suffering stress since the episode.
Margaret said: “I’m really stressed out. I haven’t been sleeping or eating. The hospital may have apologised for the distress, but we have had no apology from the doctor. They described in the letter how Chris had staggered from the couch to the chair. But let’s bear in mind that my husband is 83 years old, was feeling unwell, and had very swollen feet and legs. I would say that being a bit unsteady on your feet is a normal. Rather than accuse him of being drunk, surely they should assist him? It makes me wonder whether they made assumptions about him because of his Irish accent.”
Now the couple are awaiting an operation date for Chris, after his appointment for Friday 7th March was cancelled.
Read the full story here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/health/teetotal-birmingham-pensioner-drunk-letter-6782310