Austria: Parents of patient kicked out of Hospital, because a Nigab wearing woman objected to having a male in the room.

(Wien) 56 year old Robert Salfenauer and his wife have a 23 year old daughter Chiara and she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She has been taken onto a research program at the Vienna General Hospital (AKH). Every six months she is admitted overnight.  Where she is been tested with a course of treatment over a period of 24 hours. Since the side effects can be life-threatening the parents  always accompany their  daughter for  this treatment.

Last Monday, the family went back to the AKH  for the latest treatment.  However, before Chiara could move into her room, the hospital staff took the family aside.They were told there would be a fully-veiled lady by the window-sill, and that it would be a problem if male escorts entered. Mr Salfenauer pleaded for them to let him enter. A little later, he was told that although he was allowed to enter the room, he could not go further than the bed closest to the door  and not to his daughters bed which was further away. He complied with these instructions In fact, he had no visual contact with the other patient because she was behind a partition. But she heard his voice straightened up, looked around the screen, and immediately began to complain about what he was doing here and that he should leave immediately. She made it quite clear that she did not want a man to be here.

Robert and Mara Salfenauer 

The family then left the room and retired to a waiting area, where they talked about the incident. Shortly thereafter, a doctor accompanied by security approached the couple and asked them to leave the hospital immediately as their presence would disturb the peaceful nature of the hospital.  They were then escorted off the hospital premises by security.

The hospital has stated that the incident was unpredictable and that they regret what happened to the Salfenauer family. However they do state that there was no unequal treatment or even preference for one of the two patients. Regards the situation of a patient wearing the Isamic body covering in a Hospital when it is banned in the country, they replied that the Anti-Facial Disguise Act does not apply to patient rooms, as these are not public places within the meaning of the law."

Unfortunately for the hospital the Salfenauer family doesn't see it that way:

“We really have no problem with other religions. Everyone should keep it as he wants. But we have a problem if a clear violation of the law is not punished on the one hand, but on the other hand we, as ordinary Austrian citizens, must submit to such radical minorities in anticipatory obedience and have to tolerate everything. That just cannot go on. "