In Catalonia, a disturbing image has emerged over the weekend, sparking outrage.
A 94-year-old man was forced to push his Alzheimer's-stricken wife in a wheelchair from the Campdevànol hospital in the province of Girona to their residence, a distance of 250 meters, in freezing 2°C weather.
According to L'Independant, this incident, reported by the couple's grandson, Gérard Formenti, on social media, marks the third time the elderly couple has faced such a predicament.
Formenti expressed his frustration, noting that the hospital had informed him there was only one ambulance for the entire province.
The last time they needed an ambulance, it had to come from Figueras, even though there was none available outside the hospital. Formenti emphasized the need for improvement, pointing out that these are not just any citizens, but their grandparents, and the services are funded by their taxes.
Anna, the daughter of Ramon and Maria, who took the photo, shared in an interview that this was the third occurrence for her parents and that other patients had experienced similar issues.
She acknowledged that the ambulance service from the residence to the hospital worked well, but not the other way around.
Anna also revealed that she had decided against using the non-urgent medical transport service due to long waiting times, a fact confirmed by the Ministry of Health. The Catalan authorities, however, stated they had no knowledge of any complaints made by the family regarding the transport service.
Anna insisted that the health establishment was not to blame but called for solutions to provide quicker transportation for her parents, as they had spent over 12 hours in the emergency room on more than one occasion, including five or six hours waiting for an ambulance to take them home.
