Hospital apologises for fat jibe

Gary Barton, 48, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was stunned to hear a radiographer at the town's Good Hope Hospital make the comment as he lay waiting for an MRI examination on his knee.

Father-of-four Mr Barton, who is registered disabled, suffers from diabetes, arthritis and peripheral neuropathy, leaving him with no feeling in his feet and lower legs and dependant on a walking stick.

He was strapped down and about to go into the MRI scanner when he heard the radiographer say to a colleague: "I thought he was going to break the table the fat f***", he explained.

The former steelworker was at the hospital undergoing a scan on his right knee to check for arthritis and had been handed headphones but, unbeknown to the radiographer, could still hear the conversation going on next to him.

The red-faced radiographer apologised, but her colleague "was in fits of laughter", Mr Barton said.

He added: "It is outrageous and it isn't what you expect from medical staff. I won't lie, I wasn't too hurt and upset and I can see the funny side of it but I was shocked by how unprofessional and vindictive the staff were."

At 6ft6 and 19 stone, former steelworker Mr Barton describes himself as a "big bloke", but said: "I'm not as big as they made out and even if I was, you expect a certain level of care from medical practitioners, not scorn."

Good Hope Hospital is an NHS hospital, part of the Heart of England Foundation Trust. In a letter to Mr Barton, the Trust apologised "unreservedly" for the blunder, which took place during a visit to the radiology department on February 4.

The letter reads: "The member of staff involved deeply regrets having made the comments and is fully aware that her behaviour was both totally inappropriate and professionally unacceptable."