Tras pasar 16 horas en camilla, hecha con sillas de plástico, madre retira a su hijo autista del Hospital de Talca. Recinto la denunció a la justicia por llevárselo

So I read this crazy article about a mother in Talca who removed her autistic son from the hospital after 16 hours of waiting on a plastic chair bed. And get this - the hospital actually called the cops on her for taking him away! I mean, sure, it’s technically against the law to remove a patient without proper discharge, but can you really blame her for wanting to get her son out of there after such a long wait?

Anyway, the article explains that the mother had taken her son to the hospital for a medical emergency, only to be told that there were no beds available and that they would have to wait on these plastic chairs that apparently double as makeshift beds. Which sounds uncomfortable enough for any patient, but especially for someone with sensory sensitivities like autism.

After 16 hours of waiting, the mother had had enough and decided to take her son home. But the hospital staff weren’t having it, and they filed a complaint with the police accusing her of kidnapping. The mother was eventually cleared of all charges, but the incident has sparked outrage and a lot of debate about the state of public healthcare in Chile.

I mean, I don’t know about you, but this article really hit close to home for me. I’ve had my fair share of frustrating experiences with hospitals and waiting times, and I can only imagine how much harder it must be for families with special needs children. It just goes to show that we need to do better as a society in terms of supporting healthcare and vulnerable populations, and that we shouldn’t be punishing people for taking matters into their own hands when the system fails them.