A California doctor who thought it was amusing to mock an ER patient has sparked outrage after video cursing out a man in distress goes viral.
Dr. Beth Keegstra was reportedly examining 20-year-old Samuel Bardwell who was rushed to El Camino Hospital, reports theDaily Mail. But his injuries were apparently laughable to Keegstra who mocked the man for his anxiety attacks.
“I’m sorry sir, you were the least sick of all the people who are here who are dying,” Keegstra is seen saying as she ordered him to sit up.
Bardwell’s father recorded the video after his son urged him to do so as Keegstra allegedly started pulling and tugging on the patient forcefully.
She also entered the room with a security guard.
“You want us to wheel you to your house in a gurney?” Keegstra is heard saying on the video.
Bardwell reportedly was having trouble breathing and then Keegstra laughed: “He can’t inhale? Wow. He must be dead! Are you dead, sir?”
Keegstra is also heard cursing several times on the video.
Bardwell father said his son’s anxiety attacks are the real thing and he takes the drug Klonopin to control them.
The 20-year-old college student had not picked up his latest prescription, the dad said.
“He was on medication for his anxiety but was off his [medication] for two days because he couldn’t get to the pharmacy before it closed,” Donald Bardwell told the Mercury News.
Bardwell was attending his first summer basketball session at West Valley College on Monday night when he began experiencing some health problems.
‘He wasn’t looking too good,’ West Valley basketball coach Scott Eitelgeorge told The Mercury News.
‘It looked like he was having a pretty severe anxiety attack. Sam played for maybe five minutes before he had to step out.’
“He wasn’t looking too good,” West Valley basketball coach Scott Eitelgeorge told The Mercury News.
Bardwell then attempted to lift weights before collapsing outside the weight room, according to Eitelgeorge, who called 911.
—St. Louis man allegedly shoots girlfriend in head over $36—
Dr. Keegstra, who was employed by Vituity and was under contract to the hospital, is no longer allowed to work at the El Camino hospital.
“We are saddened that a patient in our care was affected by this behavior and are working to ensure this never happens again,” Vituity spokeswoman Allison Kundu wrote in an email to The Mercury News.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”