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Joseph Robertson, 25, rushed to order a taxi in the early hours of Thursday January 6 for 18-month-old son Louie as his face started to swell and his eyes were running with pus. He was told an ambulance would take between eight and ten hours and neither Joseph or partner Ruby Walsh, 21, can drive.

But when the DG Cars cabbie turned up at the home in Chilwell, Nottingham, he refused to take the father and son the four miles to Queen’s Medical Centre in the city.

Mr Robertson cannot wear face masks because it makes him struggle with anxiety and panic attacks, and raises his heart rate significantly.

The dad was wearing a sunflower lanyard with a medical exemption card, showing his medical exemption, but the taxi driver still refused and cancelled the ride.

Mr Robertson eventually ordered an Uber, which got he and his son to hospital safely and with no problems.

But the father remains angry with DG Cars, reports Nottinghamshire Live. 

He said: “I told him I can get anxious and struggle with panic attacks by wearing a face covering, and that I need to get my son to A&E, but he still refused; I got so angry.

“I’m very surprised one guy can refuse me and my 18-month-old son, yet another can take me – I feel let down, and luckily it was only conjunctivitis and that it wasn’t a whole lot worse.

“We noticed he had pus and gunk coming out both of his eyes – he’s only got one set of eyes and we didn’t want to take the risk of anything else happening.

“It made me so angry as your eyes are one of the most important parts of your body – if you do not have eyes, you are blind.

“If someone out there is refusing me, it makes me question who else is being refused, as there could be someone else in a worse position that needs help.”

Louie was then seen and treated for conjunctivitis, an eye condition caused by allergies or infection. He was given a course of antibiotics.

Mr Robertson, who also has six-week-old daughter Hope with Miss Walsh, said Uber recognised his lanyard.

He added: “Uber usually say about wearing a face covering, but there was nothing along those lines from DG Cars.

“If members of the public do not wear a mask, they normally put up a plastic sheet, and if the driver was that concerned, he should have put one up.”

DG Cars says it prioritises customer service but the industry faces pressures caused by the pandemic and Brexit.

A spokesperson for DG Cars said: “Our records show the driver declined the booking (as unfortunate as this is, drivers are self employed and as such can do so) and another driver was immediately sent who would have arrived five minutes later.

“This booking was then cancelled by the customer eight seconds after the driver was dispatched.

“We have received no complaint about any aspect of this booking and after listening to all call recordings can see no issues raised by the customer.

“Sadly, a 10-hour wait for an ambulance once again shows the pressures the NHS is under.

“Our own industry is facing a driver shortage due to the effects of the pandemic and Brexit.

“Despite the extreme pressures we are under we make every attempt to provide the best service to our customers and the communities we serve.”

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