After Facing Immense Backlash For Their “Dehumanizing” And “Vile” Video, The Healthcare Workers Who Mocked Their Patients On TikTok Have Been Fired
Earlier this week, several healthcare workers came under fire after mocking their patients' supposed discharge in a now-deleted TikTok video.
The first slide on the TikTok carousel saw the staff members — who were employed by Sutter Health’s Pesetas Urgent Care clinic in Santa Barbara, a Sansum Clinic facility — smiling while the caption on-screen read, “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?”
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The next photos showed each of the employees posing playfully around exam chairs stained with unknown fluids, while the various captions read, “yes,” “all shapes and sizes,” and, “all shades and opacities.” The pictures were posted uncensored, but we have blurred the stains in this article.
Not only did the staff shamelessly point at the stains, stick their tongues out, and throw their thumbs up, but in the final image, one of the workers squatted on top of the table with her hands clasped together in a praying position.
The TikTok, which was originally captioned “guess the substance,” has since been deleted from the platform, as has the account that posted it. However, it has been screen-recorded and reposted by several outraged users across Reddit and X.
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As expected, the video sparked immense backlash, with numerous accounts rightfully calling the staff out for “dehumanizing” their patients and being completely “unethical.”
“I am speechless. As a nurse, I feel second-hand embarrassment. This is beyond unprofessional and unethical,” one person said, while another agreed, “That’s deeply unprofessional.”
“This kind of stuff makes it even harder than it already is for people to feel safe with taking care of their health,” someone pointed out.
Another user described the video as “vile,” while several more urged Sutter Health to take action.
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Now, the company has indeed released a statement addressing the disgusting video. “Sutter Health has terminated the employees responsible for the inappropriate and insensitive photos posted on social media. This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients and will not be tolerated,” the statement read.
“Protecting the trust of those we serve is our highest priority, and when that trust is violated, we take swift action to address it,” they continued.
“We expect all team members to live our patients-first mission and uphold the highest standards of compassion, professionalism and respect. We are using this inappropriate incident to reinforce our comprehensive policies with all our team members across the organization as part of our commitment to providing all patients with high-quality, compassionate care,” it concluded.
According to People, who heard directly from Sutter Health, the company confirmed that the employees were placed on administrative leave "within 24 hours of becoming aware of the posts.” The outlet writes that the staff “were terminated within another 24 hours,” and that “the incident remains an ongoing internal investigation.”
Truly disgusting behavior from the staff. Feel free to share your thoughts down below in the comments.
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