A man in hospital pajamas lying five metres from a Warsaw ER failed to receive ambulance assistance, prompting police to declare that no one was obliged to leave the hospital even while he sought help.
Incident near Lindleja Street
Two cyclists noticed an older man in hospital pajamas, a diaper and a jacket lying on the ground outside the Clinical Children’s Hospital of Jesus at Lindleja Street. He had been brought by ambulance from Grodzisk Mazowiecki Hospital and was cleared for discharge by ER doctors, after which he asked police to be called because he felt unwell.
The man wore a hospital wristband, was not under the influence of alcohol, and had difficulty maintaining balance according to Beata, the woman who found him.
Repeated 112 Calls and No Ambulance Dispatch
The man’s partner made several calls to 112. Despite fifteen minutes passing, no ambulance was dispatched, and the man was already lying in pajamas on the ground.
Security officers claimed the man had been discharged at a nurse’s request because help had already been given. Each subsequent call cited prior aid at the hospital; an ambulance passing nearby did not arrive.
Police Patrol Arrival and Statements
About forty minutes after the first call, police arrived, checked the man’s identity and sobriety, and noted he was barely coherent. An officer advised his partner to go to the hospital and to ask for help.
ER registration staff stated that no one was obligated to leave the premises; the patient had already been discharged and would not receive help again. Police attempted to summon an ambulance but were told it would not come.
Hospital Protocol on Patients in Their Own Vicinity
Joanna Bachanek, spokesperson for the Mazovian voivode, explained that a patient located on hospital grounds cannot be sent an ambulance per Ministry of guidelines. In such cases, aid may come only from passers-by or police.
The medical dispatcher had spoken to hospital staff, confirming the man was a patient who had received instructions he had not followed, and then sent a police patrol to the scene.
Voivode’s Medical Dispatcher Clarifies Rules
Bachanek criticized the shift of responsibility onto random bystanders, noting all events occurred three metres from the hospital. She reported uncertainty over the medical aid the man ultimately received after police transported him.
