Jenny Hedin was going for a return visit to a private dentist in Örnsköldsvik, but before the visit she was refused to come back.
The clinic did not have chairs adapted for her weight.
– As an overweight person, I have been discriminated against on several occasions, but this probably takes its toll, she says.
Jenny Hedin from Örnsköldsvik had an examination at a private dental clinic. During the examination, everything had flowed as usual. Like all other patients, she had been sitting in the dentist’s chair for about an hour, and when she was about to leave, an appointment was booked for a return visit.
But a few days later the phone rings. The reception no longer wants Jenny to come there. First because of a concern that Jenny would fall on the stairs, then because of a lack of assistance and finally because the dentist’s chair was not adapted to her size.
Maximum weight on the chairs
Jenny suffers from eating disorders and, as a consequence, she has spent large parts of her life severely overweight.
– They said there was a maximum weight on the chairs, but I had been sitting in that chair for an hour, and there was nothing during the visit to indicate that the chair wouldn’t handle me, says Jenny.
– As an overweight person, I have been discriminated against on several occasions, but this probably takes its toll, she continues.
This was the second private clinic Jenny tried going to. On both occasions, her weight has been pointed out as a problem, and she has therefore now chosen to go back to her previous dental practice.
– Folktandvården has never asked me what I weigh, as long as it’s not about giving me some kind of medicine, she says.
Demands the right to care
Jenny struggles daily with her eating disorders and has on several occasions sought help to lose weight.
– This weight is not good, and I have never claimed that. But even though I have this weight, I still have the right to exist. I have the right to breathe the same air as everyone else, get the medical care I need and I have the right to get the dental care I need.