“Positive in Covid and forgotten in the emergency room in Siena”, the story of a young father from Arezzo

“They took me to the emergency room in Siena and there they forgot about me. They left me 20 hours without food and with very little water. In the end I called an ambulance for a private service and this was the only way I could get back to the hotel.” health where I spend the quarantine “.

Marco (real name) is still incredulous when he tells him what happened to him in the last days.

It all started with a positive Coronavirus sample and mild symptoms. The result came on Thursday of last week and then Marco, a young father from Arezzo, decided not to put his family’s health at risk and to quarantine himself in a health hotel. The transfer took place on Friday last week: he was taken to a facility in Siena, not far from le Scotte hospital.

In the following days, however, the fever began to rise and the joint pain became very severe.
“I’m always in contact with the doctor,” he explains, “and I measure the saturation myself. Three days ago, however, I felt worse and then the doctor sent me an ambulance that took me to the emergency room. It was late.”

All the tests were carried out in the hospital: the doctors checked the parameters and the results were reassuring. They then did an X-ray and blood tests and the answers came in the evening.

“I thought it would end there – says Marco – but they told me to stay the night too. So I stayed in the room they assigned me. Locked up and isolated, I slept on a stretcher and only after many requests they gave me some Water”.

The next morning the discharge papers were handed to him. “It seems that I was discharged at 9.29 – he says -. At that time, the ambulance should have come to pick me up and take me back to the health hotel. The nurses had also notified the facilities of my arrival. ”

At noon, however, Marco says that he was still locked in the room. “No one was seen and at the change of shift I knocked on the door, hoping someone would notice my presence. In the end, a nurse answered and I explained that I was there the night before, that the ambulance was waiting, that I had not eaten and she was thirsty. The answer was that they didn’t take care of the ambulance, but if they called her she would come. “

At 4 pm Marco was still in the room, he says it was taken by despair: “I was hungry, thirsty and felt the fever starting to rise. So I tried to call 118. It was a crazy situation: I was in a hospital room and I was calling the ER for help. The person who attended me. but he couldn’t help me and told me to call the Carabinieri. I, incredulous, did not know how to do it. I called a relative to comfort me. Then I remembered that there are associations that offer sick private transport services. I called one from Arezzo. “

The ambulance left Arezzo around 5pm, went to Scotte, picked up Marco and took him back to the health hotel, which is about 10 minutes from the hospital, where the nurses had been waiting for him since the morning and they were also concerned.

“In practice, after having signed the resignation sheet – says the young father – they no longer bothered me, locked in that room. However, seeing the infection, I couldn’t move. Now I’m waiting for the bill for the ambulance. “