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African-American Woman Offered White Prosthetic Leg
Aired August 25, 2003 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well imagine being told that you need to have your leg amputated. And if that wasn't shocking enough, what if your healthcare provider told you it would only pay for a prosthetic limb made for someone of a different race?
Well, that's what happened to a British woman. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) reports on her battle with the healthcare industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ingrid Nicholls had been faced with the prospect of a foot amputation since a bone fusing operation on her leg failed. That was already tough on her. But her anguish was heightened when she was offered a white artificial foot by her local hospital, that would have been the cheaper option.
INGRID NICHOLLS, FUTURE AMPUTEE: We had just gotten through the showing me the different types of prosthesis because obviously you get different ones. And I automatically then said, Oh, well, I'll get one to match my other leg. Obviously, you're just showing me what you've got here. And then he said, Well, no, you won't. And the only way you'll get one is if you pay for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it would cost her 3,000 pounds. The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, where Ms. Nicholls is due to have her operation, said there was no local health authority funding available for black false limbs.
Now, however the money has been made available. The hospital issued this statement to ITV News:
"The Berkshire Health economy accept responsibility for this patient's care and take responsibility for the cost of her prosthetic feet. We will be working together with the primary care trusts to address this issue and to clarify funding for future cases."
Her treatment by the National Health Service has outraged the Disability Rights Commission.
NICHOLLS: It's like asking a white person to have a black artificial limb, isn't it? You know, they wouldn't do that. So why should they do that to me -- you know, make me feel like a second class citizen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The commission says in this day and age the NHS should make suitable provision for disabled black people.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE), ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 25, 2003 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well imagine being told that you need to have your leg amputated. And if that wasn't shocking enough, what if your healthcare provider told you it would only pay for a prosthetic limb made for someone of a different race?
Well, that's what happened to a British woman. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) reports on her battle with the healthcare industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ingrid Nicholls had been faced with the prospect of a foot amputation since a bone fusing operation on her leg failed. That was already tough on her. But her anguish was heightened when she was offered a white artificial foot by her local hospital, that would have been the cheaper option.
INGRID NICHOLLS, FUTURE AMPUTEE: We had just gotten through the showing me the different types of prosthesis because obviously you get different ones. And I automatically then said, Oh, well, I'll get one to match my other leg. Obviously, you're just showing me what you've got here. And then he said, Well, no, you won't. And the only way you'll get one is if you pay for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it would cost her 3,000 pounds. The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, where Ms. Nicholls is due to have her operation, said there was no local health authority funding available for black false limbs.
Now, however the money has been made available. The hospital issued this statement to ITV News:
"The Berkshire Health economy accept responsibility for this patient's care and take responsibility for the cost of her prosthetic feet. We will be working together with the primary care trusts to address this issue and to clarify funding for future cases."
Her treatment by the National Health Service has outraged the Disability Rights Commission.
NICHOLLS: It's like asking a white person to have a black artificial limb, isn't it? You know, they wouldn't do that. So why should they do that to me -- you know, make me feel like a second class citizen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The commission says in this day and age the NHS should make suitable provision for disabled black people.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE), ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
