Moment maskless conspiracy theorist tries to take dying elderly Covid patient home from hospital acute care unit against doctors' orders before he is dragged out by security guards

This is the moment a maskless conspiracy theorist tries to take a dying elderly Covid patient home from a hospital ward against doctors' orders, before he is dragged out by security guards.

Tobe Hayden Leigh launched a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse as he was frogmarched from the acute respiratory care unit at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, after apparently sneaking in to collect a loved one who wanted to leave.

Joined by others close to the patient, the intruder filmed a team of medics - who were working tirelessly to save the pensioner's life - and insisted he be discharged, despite a doctor warning he could 'drop dead at any minute'.

Insisting he was the patient's 'McKenzie friend' - an untrained legal helper - he asks for the patient to be taken off oxygen, despite his seriously low levels, and ignored repeated requests to leave during the fiery 20-minute row. 

When Mr Leigh and the others with the patient were told they were putting themselves and others in grave danger by being there, and in his case not wearing a mask, they simply replied: 'It's our own risk.'

The patient - who was seen coughing and struggling for breath throughout - removed his oxygen tube and demanded to go home, but was told by staff he would not survive the journey.

Joined by others close to the patient, the intruder filmed a team of medics - who were working tirelessly to save the pensioner's life - and insisted he be discharged, despite a doctor warning he could 'drop dead at any minute'

The ringleader of the group, who insisted he was exempt from wearing a mask, added insult to injury by asking staff whether Covid was even 'proven to exist', before finally being booted out by security.

Footage of the disturbing incident has already been viewed thousands of times.

It shows the patient and his loved ones arguing with a young male doctor - as he desperately battles to save the man from the virus.

The doctor warns the patient if he removes his oxygen tube he will die, to which he replies: 'Yeah, so you keep saying. Let's go.'

Mr Leigh steps in and accuses the hospital of 'lying' about the patient's condition and keeping his family in the dark.

The doctor responds: 'My main concern is his safety and at the moment you are making him unsafe. He's taken his oxygen off, he's going to die if we don't put it back on.'

The patient defiantly replies: 'No, I'm not.'

The doctor refuses to discuss the matter further until the oxygen pipe is put back in - and the patient reluctantly agrees.

Appealing to his family, the doctor says: 'You're not respecting our wishes by coming inside. You're going to spread Covid around.'

Mr Leigh insists 'we're fine', and the patient - clearly struggling for air - asks: 'What about my wishes?'

The incident was filmed by Tobe Hayden Leigh, pictured, a conspiracy theorist

The doctor then points at the patient's oxygen levels on a monitor and says: 'Seventy-three per cent. He's at risk of dropping dead at any minute.'

The seriously ill man says 'I want to go home' but is told: 'You will die.' Again, he dismisses the medical advice.

The man's loved ones continue to challenge the doctor but he stands firm and insists the patient will not survive without a constant supply of oxygen.

He says: 'He has coronavirus pneumonia affecting both of his lungs. He's on steroids called dexamethasone. He's on antibiotics to treat concurrent bacterial infections.'

Mr Leigh says his treatment should be replaced with vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc but is flatly told: 'None of those are proven treatments for coronavirus.'

Security guards then arrive and order him to leave, but he refuses to comply, saying the patient is being held 'hostage'.

He blasts: 'I'm an officer of the court. I'm putting you on notice, if you put one hand on me and touch me I'll be doing you for assault.'

The doctor tells the patient he needs to be put on a ventilator, but he shakes his head and says: 'No way. Hurry up and get me out of here.'

Mr Leigh then rants about Covid conspiracy theories, at which point the doctor ends the conversation and tells security to throw him out.

As he is hauled away, he shouts 'get off me, ya p****' and threatens to have the men prosecuted for assault.

Security had to intervene, right, after Mr Leigh, who was filming the incident, refused to listen to doctors, left

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said: 'Officers were called by East Surrey Hospital on Saturday, January 23, reporting concerning social media posts which included videos and abusive comments towards hospital staff made over the course of two days which appeared to be escalating.

'On investigation, this related to an earlier incident where police were called to the hospital on Thursday, January 21, around 1.55pm following reports that a number of people had gained access to the critical care ward to visit a family member and were not wearing masks.

'They were reported to be abusive towards hospital staff when they were asked to comply with the instruction to wear a face covering. They also refused to leave when asked to do so. 

'Officers issued fines to two individuals involved for breaching Covid restrictions and issued a breach of the peace warning which resulted in the group leaving the location.

'An investigation is under way into the videos and comments which are being posted on social media, and enquiries remain ongoing.'

East Surrey Chief Inspector Kimball Edey added: 'The escalation of this incident, with the abusive comments being directed at the hospital on social media, is extremely concerning, and further enquiries into this matter are ongoing. 

'These comments are obviously causing considerable distress for the staff at the hospital and we are doing everything we can to ensure that those responsible are identified and located.

'When we attended the hospital last week, it transpired that a number of people visiting a patient were not wearing face masks, and fines were issued to two of them.

'We have continued to maintain our 4Es approach towards any breaches of current covid regulations - explaining, encouraging and educating and only enforcing when we are faced with a flagrant breach of the rules as a last resort - since the start of the first lockdown.

'Unfortunately, there is a small minority of people who do not understand or refuse to appreciate the seriousness of the impact of the pandemic. 

'To gain access to a critical care ward without taking the proper precautions not only puts themselves at risk, but also the lives of other people and the hospital staff who are trying to care for seriously ill patients, at risk as well.

'To then become abusive and threatening towards the staff who are trying to treat these vulnerable patients under extremely challenging conditions defies belief and is simply reprehensible.

'Thankfully, the vast majority of Surrey residents are complying with the lockdown regulations, and we thank them for that, but we will not hesitate to take action when we are faced with such an extreme and blatant disregard for these rules.'