Santa Barbara, California— After a scandal on social media, a bunch of healthcare staff at Pesetas Urgent Care in Santa Barbara, California, have lost their jobs. A viral video that was first shared on TikTok showed staff personnel making fun of what looked like patients’ body fluids left on an exam chair in a hospital facility.
The video, which went viral over the Labor Day weekend, was a six-slide clip with pictures of the personnel smiling, pointing, and even posing around the dirty paper on a medical exam chair. The photographs had text on them that asked things like, “Can patients give you guys gifts?” and the post’s title inquired, “Guess the substance!”
The video has since been taken down, along with the TikTok account it was put on, but it is still being shared on other sites like X (previously Twitter), where it has gotten a lot of negative attention.
Sutter Health, the parent business of Sansum Clinic, which runs the urgent care center, made a strong statement in reaction to the backlash. A spokeswoman said, “Sutter Health has fired the employees who posted the inappropriate and insensitive photos on social media.” “This behavior is completely against our rules, shows a lack of respect for our patients, and will not be allowed.” Our top objective is to keep the trust of the people we serve, and when that trust is broken, we act quickly to fix it.
Authorities said that the staff were put on leave within 24 hours of the clinic learning about the posts and fired within another 24 hours. There is still an internal inquiry going on about the event.
The video has made a lot of healthcare professionals and the public quite angry, with many saying they are disgusted and disappointed. Someone on X said, “As a nurse, I feel second-hand embarrassed.” This is not only unprofessional, it’s also wrong. Someone else said, “It’s crazy to me that so many people were involved and not one of them thought it was wrong.” The event has led to a bigger discussion concerning the use of social media in hospital settings, patient privacy, and professional ethics.