BURI RAM: Relatives vented their frustration on seeing an on-duty assistant nurse playing a game on a mobile phone when she was supposed to be taking care of a patient.
The assistant nurse (who was not identified) came under fire after images of her playing a game on her phone beside the patient, who was on a respirator, went viral online.
The Facebook user who posted them on Monday also commented, “Excuse me, the hospital…treating patients like relatives? My uncle is on the verge of exhaustion. How come you are playing a game? Are you free now? Have sympathy for his relatives, please. They are looking at you playing games while treating the patient. How would you feel if you were in their shoes? I don’t want to denounce you, but I have watched you doing this for over an hour.’’
The post drew heavy criticism of the assistant nurse.
The account holder, Ms Ann (surname withheld), said she had no intention of finding fault with the assistant nurse, but she was worried about the condition of her uncle, who was relying heavily on a respirator to breathe at the time.
She later deleted the post after the hospital apologised for the incident. She had also apologised to the hospital in turn. She had no intention of causing damage to the hospital, she said. However, she wanted the hospital staffer to do her job better. She and her relatives had no grudge against the woman, and wanted to the matter to end there.
Dr Noppadol Pitsanuwong, deputy director of the hospital, said management acted on the incident. Representatives went to visit the patient, who was later transferred to Buri Ram Hospital, and apologised to the relatives. The matter had ended amicably.
The assistant nurse had since been warned about her conduct and her work performance was being assessed, he said.
