Hospitals Tell Doctors They'll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

[babylonsister]

Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll 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 he’d 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 are muzzling nurses and other health-care workers in an attempt to preserve their image,” said Ruth Schubert, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association. “It is outrageous.”

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]

1. They fear lawsuits. Not excusing it, but that is the reason behind it, imo.

[malaise]

2. I dare them - no I double dare them

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]

3. Ahhhhh, the 'bidness' side of healthcare. This won't make people trust them any more.

[Bettie]

4. Can any of these hospitals afford to

lose staff at this point? Seriously, aren't they in an "all hands on deck" status?

[Jim__]

5. Exactly! We're being told there is a shortage of medical personnel.

How can they be firing people?

[dem4decades]

6. The doctors should speak as one, fire them all. I am Dr. Spartacus.

[2naSalit]

11. [phone]!

[MagickMuffin]

7. Threatening the Medical Professionals is a double edge sword

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]

8. I Think

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]

9. stupid.

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]

10. Hospital admins who pulls this dumbfuckery will get what's due?

My mom is an M.H.A. holder.

She hears of this, I can see her eyes turning red, OK aint telling her.

[2naSalit]

12. So the corporate hospital shareholders

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.