Posted on 09/27/2015 9:22:34 AM PDT by robowombat
British Hospital Moves Injured Air Force Sergeant Twice Because His Uniform Might Offend ‘Different Cultures’
Sep. 27, 2015 9:00am Sharona Schwartz
A British hospital has apologized after twice moving a Royal Air Force sergeant out of the sight of other patients over the staff’s concern that his military uniform would offend other patients, British media reported this weekend.
According to the serviceman’s father, hospital workers told aircraft engineer Sgt. Mark Prendeville, 38, that he was moved away from other patients in a waiting room, because they thought his uniform “might upset people,” as they “have all kinds of different cultures coming in.”
Sgt. Mark Prendeville was asked by hospital staff to move twice over fears his Royal Air Force uniform might offend the multicultural patients.
Sgt. Mark Prendeville was asked by hospital staff to move twice over fears his Royal Air Force uniform might offend the multicultural patients.
Prendeville was taken to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in the seaside town of Margate after fire extinguisher chemicals got into his eyes during a training exercise.
Prendeville’s father Jim told the Telegraph that he was “disgusted” and that his son was “dumbfounded” after being told twice to move out of the view of other patients.
Having served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia, Predeville was wearing a camouflage combat uniform when he was brought in for treatment.
“One of the staff asked him if he would stand around the corner so he wouldn’t be seen by other people in case it may upset them because he was in uniform,” the father said. “He went round the corner not to make a fuss but then another member of staff asked him to move again in case anyone saw him because he was in uniform.”
“He said ‘why should I move,’ and they said ‘because your uniform might upset people, we have all kinds of different cultures coming in and you might upset them,’” Jim Prendeville told the British paper.
“The way they treat our servicemen – they’re willing to put their lives on the line, and they’re treated like lepers when they go to [emergency room],” he added.
A hospital spokesman issued a statement explaining that the staff member was motivated by a previous altercation between a serviceman and a patient.
“A member of the armed forces in uniform attended our A&E [emergency room] and was asked by a member of staff if he wanted to sit inside the department rather than the waiting room,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement given to the British media.
“This employee was acting in good faith because previously, there had been an altercation between a member of the public and a different member of the armed forces in uniform,” the spokesman explained.
The hospital is “absolutely clear that members of Her Majesty’s armed forces, whether in uniform or not, should not be treated any differently to any other person,” the spokesman added.
“This is horrifying,” Former RAF navigator Flt. Lt. John Nichol told the Sun. “You should be treated differently for wearing a uniform, you should be lauded because you’re wearing uniform, you should be celebrated for wearing uniform.”
Nichol is a well-known military commentator and author in the U.K. In 1991, his plane was shot down by then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces during the first Gulf War. He was later tortured and paraded on television.
Yes, it does.
Muslims are predominanently in London and some major cities in the Midlands and North. Great chunks of rural England and the UK are Muslim and ethnic low/free. Contrary to myth.
The consequences of giving a moment's thought concerning the feelings of an ax-murderer breaking down your door can be deadly.
LOL, no. Similar but updated.
The men in that case and others like Rochdale are already jailed, the bigger issue still at play is the shameful cowardice that allowed them to thrive. Not from the community itself (they were the first to flag it up) but PC police and council cowards who were more scared of racism than abuse.
Those protestors are almost all to a man the EDL and BNP types, not normal folk angry (who have marched peacefully) but BNP racist types using their marches as an excuse to bash Pakis, Indians and Britons of colour. Whilst I have no doubt they are genuinely angry, frankly they are using it as a recruiting tool.
Too often its white racist idiots marching against extreme Muslim idiots and thug ‘anti racist’ idiots. There needs to be more normal public marching, but these groups are putting people off.
Okay, thanks for that. As usual I get most of my UK news from the Daily Mail.
R/Janey
No, afterward, I reread my post and could see what you read. I am usually doing two or three things at once which makes for sloppy posting and half reading. (:
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