A nurse has been sacked after a video showed her doing a ‘disgusting’ act while leaning over a patient.
The woman, who has not been named, was identified from a clip shared on Facebook by bosses at Ottumwa Regional Health Center in Iowa. She can be seen flossing her teeth in the video as she looks over patient Cole “Tiny” Cross in his hospital bed, who was being treated for congenital heart disease.
As reported by the Mirror, Cole raises his hand to try to get the nurse’s attention throughout the footage – however, she appears to ignore him and continue flossing. The clip went viral online after being shared by Cole’s his best friend, Joe Bainbridge – and some of those who watched it demanded that the nurse lose her job or be moved to another part of the hospital.
The video from Ottumwa Regional Health Center in Iowa shows a nurse flossing while tending to a patient
One wrote “Omg….that’s pretty disgusting behaviour. Praying for this poor fella”, while another person said: “Someone needs to go and demand she stay out of his room.” Another viewer described her decision to floss while tending to a patient as “unhinged”, while someone else wrote: “Not to mention he was raising his hand trying to get her attention and was ignored. She needs to be fired.” Another commenter said: “What in the world is going on here. She needs to be fired immediately.”
Ottumwa Regional Health Center says it has since suspended the woman in the clip and insisted the incident was “not a reflection” of the “great care” they provide to patients. A statement from the hospital said: “Ottumwa Regional Health Center has a zero-tolerance policy for actions that don’t align with our core values. As soon as this unacceptable behaviour was flagged for us early last week, we addressed it, immediately suspending and then terminating the employment of the staff member involved.
“This one incident is not a reflection of the dedication of our team or the great care we provide our community each day. We encourage anyone who sees something like this to speak up and report it so we can resolve it as quickly as possible, ensuring the health and safety of our patients and learning from it.”
According to local news outlet KTVO, Mr Cross received further treatment at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. He was discharged on Monday, January 6, but may still require further care.
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