Health clinic workers fired after viral TikTok videos of them mocking patients spark outrage
A healthcare clinic that received backlash after its employees posted a crude TikTok about its patients have allegedly been fired.
A group of workers at Sutter health sparked mass outrage after seeming to joke about a patient’s bodily fluids at the Sansum clinic.
The clinic, which is in Santa Barbara, were quickly under fire after the carousel of images showed them in various positions around an examination table and hospital chairs.
The workers crowded around the tables and chairs, asking viewers to guess what fluid was on the surface.
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One picture showed a worker squatting on a table with her hands in a praying position, another had a staffer with her leg up, a worker was wearing blue scrubs and sticking her tongue out, and more.
One of the things posted on the images was the question: “Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?”
The video was captioned: “Guess the substance.”
Having been posted to TikTok over the Labor Day weekend, it quickly went viral and sparked anger from those who saw it.
So much so that many took to Yelp to leave bad reviews, and as of right now, the clinic has received over 200 one-star reviews due to the post.
One Yelp reviewer said he now second guesses his medical providers.
“I had a doctor’s appointment today, and even though I trust who I was seeing, it was in the back of my mind what Sutter Health had done,” he said.
Since the viral video caused the internet to launch an attack on behalf of the dignity of patients everywhere, the company has addressed the post and the actions it has taken.
According to Sutter Health, the post was uploaded by an ex-worker who left the company in July.
Everyone else inside the images were put on administrative leave, and now they have been terminated.
“Sutter Health has terminated the employees responsible for the inappropriate and insensitive photos posted on social media,” the company posted to its official X account on Wednesday August 4.
“This unacceptable behavior is an outright violation of our policies, shows a lack of respect for our patients and will not be tolerated.
“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 added: "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."
The health organization has 200 clinics across northern California.
A Sutter Health representative said they were left 'deeply concerned' after the video surfaced.
“The trust and dignity of our patients always remain our top priority,” the spokesperson said.
They labeled the social media post as 'disrespectful' and chiefs launched an investigation.
Officials stressed the video contravened the company’s policies of professionalism and respect.
“We have strict policies to protect patient privacy and dignity and any behavior that disrespects those standards is unacceptable,” they said.
“The trust and dignity of our patients always remain at the center of everything we do.”
Topics: Health, Social Media, TikTok, US News, Viral
Britt Jones