Disabled woman claims NHS sent her to be weighed at a pet shop

A disabled woman has claimed she was left in a state of disbelief when NHS staff told het to go to a pet shop to be weighed. 

Shropshire-based Sarah Rennie, who documents her life as a ‘proud’ disabled person on TikTok, told viewers she had been directed to a Pets at Home store to be weighed by The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. 

Fellow TikTokers were outraged by the NHS’s blithe advice, with one branding Sarah’s experience ‘horrific’.     

The accessibility and inclusion specialist and trainer, who goes by ‘sarahvbarriers’ on the platform, explained she’s often asked for her ‘accurate weight’ by medical staff.

Wheelchair user Sarah is required to report her weight so doctors and nurses can make sure that she is on the correct medication at the right dose and that her lifting equipment is able to properly support her. 

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 200,000 times, Sarah said: ‘I can’t believe this just happened.

‘The NHS has just referred me to a pet shop. 

‘As a disabled person [on] medication [and with] lots of lifting equipment, I’m often asked my accurate weight.

‘I need to get weighed because I can’t stand or walk.’

Sarah explained that because she is unable to stand or walk, finding out her weight is slightly more complicated.

She added: ‘This means that I either need to have a hoist that’s got weighing scales or I need to be able to roll onto a scales in my wheelchair and subtract the weight of the wheelchair.’

In the minute-long video, Sarah, a member of the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality Advisory Board, tells viewers she’s been unable to find any NHS facilities in her area that are equipped to weigh her.

‘The wheelchair service no longer offers a weighing facility,’ she said.

Sarah was shocked when ‘a very nice lady’ associated with her surgery suggested she go on local radio to see if any local factory owners might have the kind of equipment that would allow her to be weighed – but worse was still to come. 

Explaining that she was advised to go to The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, which is a 40-minute drive from her home, Sarah thought it was worth checking that the hospital would be able to help her before setting off. 

But, in a typed response which Sarah added to the TikTok video, she was told to ‘access community-based weighing options, including facilities such as “Pets at Home”.’

Sarah, who was clearly in a state of disbelief, added: ‘I’ve just had this response: “We advise patients to go to Pets at Home”. Do I look like a chipmunk?!’

The clip amassed 580 comments in a matter of three days, with the majority of fellow TikTok users sharing Sarah’s shock and disappointment.

One person wrote: ‘That is horrific.’

The TikToker advised: ‘Although if you are stuck, Shropshire Council have a list of public weighbridges which are very accurate.’

Another outraged user said: ‘I work in a nursing home, does the NHS hospital not have a SINGLE hoist sling in the entire hospital?’

A third person added: ‘What? That’s awful! I go to my local gym, they have a big platform weighing scales which I transfer onto’. 

While a fourth said: ‘That is incredibly dehumanising! Being referred to Pets at Home or a factory like you’re an animal or some kind of good to be sold?! Also, how can a wheelchair service work without being able to weigh people?’

A fifth person commented: ‘Outrageous! Shropshire-based myself, this is just… I’m lost for words. Reposted to raise awareness!’

Yet not everyone agreed that Sarah was right to be dismayed by the NHS hospital’s suggestion that she go to a Pets at Home store to be weighed.

One person said: ‘At least they’ve found you somewhere’.

Yet another user disagreed, writing beneath the comment: ‘They haven’t though. Pets at Home do not have roll on scales and she’s not a dog’. 

Someone else added: ‘Honestly don’t get the issue here, it’s a convenient and cost–effective alternative. 

‘You presumably live in a rural area where they don’t have the facilities, or money for the facilities, locally, so either travel hours out your way to a major care centre or improvise’. 

When approached for comment, a spokesperson from NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, on behalf of the local health and care system, said: ‘We would like to apologise to Ms Rennie for any upset or offence caused. 

‘Although we are unable to comment on individual cases, we are continuing to look into her experience to fully understand the wider issues and identify what can be done for her, and others, in similar situations.’