Dialysis patient wants an apology from OPP officers

News reports and online publications exclusively in reference to the Ontario Provincial Police.

Dialysis patient wants an apology from OPP officers

Postby Thomas » Sun Dec 11, 2016 3:58 pm

Three days a week, Tracy Werth is in and out of the Palmerston Hospital for her dialysis treatment.

It’s a routine she has kept over the last two and half years ever since her body rejected the kidney her husband gave her five years ago.

The treatment, according to Werth is exhausting and in her own words is like, “you've kind of been hit by a bus.”

So on Wednesday, as she left her treatment, she was surprised to see that two OPP cruisers took up two of the four spaces reserved for dialysis patients, forcing those with kidney disease to find parking further away.

"Why would they park there when there's plenty of parking at that end of the parking lot for them? They're healthy they can walk the extra steps whereas these people can't necessarily do that," says Werth who goes on to say that this is not the first time she has seen it happen.

According to hospital staff, the four spots are a courtesy to the fourteen dialysis patients in treatment.

However, there is no official bylaw in place to enforce the spots.

In a statement to CTV News, an OPP spokesperson Sergeant David Rektor says, “At the time of this complaint, 4 officers were guarding patients at the hospital addressing public safety concerns.”

The statement goes on to say that while that isn’t an excuse for where the officers parked it is an explanation that they were performing serious operational duties at the time they chose to park in these spots.

“The OPP regrets any inconvenience this may have caused anyone," says Rektor.

The statement goes on to say that the entire Palmerston force was spoken to about the issue.

Werth says what she would really like is an apology from the officers to the patients in her dialysis unit.

"They're not above the law and they shouldn't be able to just park where ever they want," says Werth.

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/dialysis-pa ... -1.3197452
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