NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was admitted to Denmark’s national university hospital Rigshospitalet this week for an arm fracture operation, but his admission caused the hospital to relegate an incurable cancer patient from her single-bed ward to an office.

Susanne Larsen, 44, who is suffering from incurable bone marrow cancer and has had to have implants to help her manage a collapsed back, was being treated in a single-bed ward - until NATO’s Secretary-General arrived for treatment for a fractured arm, according to Ekstra Bladet.

Fogh Rasmussen fractured his arm last week after falling off his bicycle during a bicycle ride in Brussels.

To accommodate NATO’s Secretary-General, hospital staff removed Larsen to a windowless office without an emergency alarm. Staff told her that if she needed attention she should bang on a teacup with a spoon.

“When I had a fit of cramps and was sick, I tried to bang on the teacup and shouted, but no-one came, so I had to lie in my own vomit,” Larsen tells Ekstra Bladet, adding she felt humiliated.

Rigshospitalet Director Torben Stentoft says he regrets the episode.

“I have been approached by a patient through her lawyer and have looked into the case. As the case looks now I apologise for the incident and I know that the ward has now taken steps to make sure it does not happen again,” Stentoft tells Ekstra Bladet.

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