Man, 45, arrested after abusive comments to hospital staff posted online
28 January 2021, 19:40
A 45-year-old man has been arrested after a group of people became abusive to hospital staff when they attempted to remove a Covid-19 patient.
The man, of Maidstone, Kent, has been arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and is in custody, said Surrey Police.
He was arrested in connection over an incident at the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill on January 21.
A video posted on social media shows a man telling staff that Covid-19 "had not been proven to exist" and he was taking a patient home from the hospital.
A medic is seen to inform the maskless man that the patient is being treated with oxygen, steroids and antibiotics for coronavirus pneumonia affecting both his lungs and warns him that if the oxygen were removed "he will last about half an hour until he dies".
The man is then seen to be removed from the ward by security guards and, when asked why he is not wearing a mask, he states that he is exempt.
A second man was also arrested on Thursday afternoon on suspicion of assisting an offender and is also in custody, said the force.
East Surrey Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey said: "The appeal generated hundreds of calls from members of the public with information as to his whereabouts and we would like to thank both them and the media for their help in tracking him down.
"I would also like to thank our colleagues at Kent Police, who assisted with the arrests.
"The man will be interviewed and further updates will be issued in due course."
