It’s one thing for medical staff to care about a patient’s well-being, and it’s another to use intimidation to prove they’re right. A hospital in Pennsylvania was doing a routine lead check on a young girl’s levels and discovered that hers were dangerously high. It was around 10 pm when the staff called in the parents to visit the ER with their daughter ASAP. Alarmed but also concerned, the parents requested a second test to confirm that things were as dire as their child’s doctor had claimed. Surprisingly, the physician refused, but then things took a bizarre and frightening turn.
For a second opinion, the doctor told the parents that they’d have to go to a specific hospital in Pittsburgh, three hours away. Seeing how it was already around midnight, the parents opted to visit a different hospital that was just forty minutes away; it was also one they trusted more. Suddenly, the doctor burst into a fit of rage. “He immediately got mad at us for suggesting that, accused me of having an attitude and refusing treatment for our child,” the daughter’s mother recalled. Still, the dad and mom said they’d leave for the hospital of their choice and prepared to head out.
The situation only escalated. The angry doctor called the hospital’s privately owned security on the parents, who blocked them from leaving. They “stated that we could not leave or we would be arrested,” the mom explained. They took a step further, claiming that “this was a medical emergency and she [their daughter] could die at any second.” The staff spouted all this while detaining the family in the hallway and didn’t let the daughter use the restroom or receive the ‘serious medical treatment’ she so needed.
If the parents didn’t comply, the hospital staff and doctor then threatened to have the parents arrested and have their daughter taken away by Child Services. They then put the parents on a timer, forcing them to drive to the Pittsburgh hospital without fail; otherwise, they would call the police on them. Unfortunately, the tired parents eventually gave in and took their daughter on a three-hour drive at 3 am to the affiliated hospital. Here’s the crazy thing: the daughter was released shortly after being admitted, as the Pittsburgh hospital found nothing wrong with her lead levels.
The mother posted the entire story on Reddit, and an overwhelming number of users in the comment section believe she should take action against the hospital and file legal complaints against the staff. “Hospitals shouldn’t be able to scare parents out of seeking second opinions, especially when their own numbers were off,” remarks a Redditor. Hopefully, the unreasonable doctor and other staff will be held accountable for their behavior. In no universe should any hospital strongarm a patient’s family, let alone a girl’s parents like that.
