Bruno Acosta, a Twitter user, denounced on his account that his girlfriend was not allowed to enter the Institute of Tropical Medicine, despite having been bitten by a dogsupposedly because of the way she was dressed.
“A dog bit my girlfriend while jogging. We are going to the Institute of Medicine Tropical (specialized for these cases) and they won’t let you in because you’re in a top and you’re wearing shoes. So remember, if an animal is going to attack you, be dressed formally,” he tweeted.
The young man mentioned that fortunately he had a jacket in the car and with that the patient was able to cover herself and be treated. This situation aroused outrage on social networks and citizens questioned that in an emergency, clothing cannot be prioritized over the patient’s health.
Carlos Merlo, director of the Institute of Medicine Tropical, told Última Hora that he learned about the case and denied that he had been prohibited from entering the hospital.
“I spoke with the person who attended him and he told me: ‘I only asked if he had something to cover himself to go to the office’, the consultation was not delayed. In no way is this a policy to prevent a person from being attended by the way you dress. So she was not denied entry, she was treated, the only thing they were asked is if they had something to cover themselves to go to the office, “he said.
He continued: “He was taken to the RAC (Reception, Reception and Classification), where patients are classified according to their severity. There he was treated and the person who attended him asked him to go to the office if he had something with which cover up.”
The doctor explained that users are asked to wear as little skin exposure as possible because it is a hospital that treats infectious diseases. “The doctors wear their protective gown and the users only have their clothes to protect themselves,” he said.
He added that although it is not part of the institution’s policy, out of respect for users and health personnel “he does not think that what was asked of the patient is out of place.”
In this sense, he mentioned that the personnel who work in the hospital have a uniform that identifies them as a doctor, as a nurse, or as hospital personnel and that a doctor will not attend to him in slippers or shorts.
He reinforced the idea by saying that most complaints are usually the other way around and that it is usually the patients who complain “of how people with scanty clothing are allowed to pass.”
The director stressed that the person was treated, he spent about 30 minutes in the hospital, where he was treated, given the anti-rabies vaccine and given all the necessary care.