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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHospitals Tell Doctors They'll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear
Hospitals Tell Doctors Theyll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear
By Olivia Carville
, Emma Court
, and Kristen V Brown
March 31, 2020, 9:23 AM EDT
It is outrageous, Washington nurses organization says
Media guidelines are meant to protect patients privacy
Hospitals are threatening to fire health-care workers who publicize their working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic -- and have in some cases followed through.
Ming Lin, an emergency room physician in Washington state, said he was told Friday he was out of a job because hed given an interview to a newspaper about a Facebook post detailing what he believed to be inadequate protective equipment and testing. In Chicago, a nurse was fired after emailing colleagues that she wanted to wear a more protective mask while on duty. In New York, the NYU Langone Health system has warned employees they could be terminated if they talk to the media without authorization.
Hospitals have traditionally had strict media guidelines to protect patient privacy, urging staff to talk with journalists only through official public relations offices. But the pandemic has ushered in a new era, Schubert said.
Health-care workers must have the ability to tell the public what is really going on inside the facilities where they are caring for Covid-19 patients, she said.
more...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-31/hospitals-tell-doctors-they-ll-be-fired-if-they-talk-to-press?utm_medium=social&utm_content=politics&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-facebook-politics&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2yvV3szpsnIkWyg1s-ZqThc1Jdi6usWQtwsp4Bv7HYPTwdghTZwzc5auI
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)malaise
(268,993 posts)Speak out loud hospital folks - they need you more than you need them.
You did not sign on to die for their incompetence.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)Bettie
(16,105 posts)lose staff at this point? Seriously, aren't they in an "all hands on deck" status?
Jim__
(14,075 posts)How can they be firing people?
dem4decades
(11,288 posts)2naSalit
(86,600 posts)MagickMuffin
(15,938 posts)The medical professionals can all decide to strike. I know they wouldn't do it in a time of crisis. But they can threaten to do so.
What would we do then without the medical professionals tending to the sick?
They deserve respect and the equipment to do their jobs safely and without FEAR of losing their jobs or more importantly their lives because lack of PPE.
RobinA
(9,891 posts)the horse has already escaped through this barn door. Plus, in this era of cell phone cameras employers have lost the war to keep inner workings a secret. They haven't admitted it, but they have. They've lost the whole battle with the Internet. I remember when the Internet first came to the desktop of my then-employer it was, No checking personal e-mail from work!!! Yeah, that lasted about a minute.
barbtries
(28,793 posts)the administrators need those people for one thing. for another, they should be out publicizing the shortages so the health care workers whose lives are being threatened don't have to.
crazy making. it's not a normal time goddammit, fuck your optics.
Brainfodder
(6,423 posts)My mom is an M.H.A. holder.
She hears of this, I can see her eyes turning red, OK aint telling her.
2naSalit
(86,600 posts)are probably having a hard time with their dear leader's bad PR, it appears.
I say defy them. Keep working and show us because the shareholders want to cover up their failings and those of the shitgibbon.