Key takeaways:
- Facebook posts pounded some nurses by name, says Central Health CEO.
- Central Health President and CEO Andrée Robichaud say workers are frustrated by the harassment they front on social media.
The CEO of Central Health asks for kindness and respect from workers and patients as medical experts in central Newfoundland face harassment on social media.
Andrée Robichaud says what started as help for health-care workers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has turned into hate in recent weeks, fuelled by long wait times at emergency rooms across Newfoundland and Labrador and a recruitment problem that has led to understaffing.
“We have recruitment problems as the remainder of the nation does. People are frustrated, and I understand that, but they need to be respectful toward our team, and our staff ought to be respectful toward our customers,” Robichaud told CBC News Monday.
The condition came to a head earlier this month when the health officer gave a statement requesting all parties to remember to be considerate and respectful after Facebook posts about Central Health workers were shared on social media.
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Robichaud said posts had some nurses by name, calling the posts offensive and degrading. Some affected employees have asked the health authority if the seats could be considered slanderous and asked their employer if they would be supported if the happening were to be taken to court.
“I’ve had meetings with a bunch of employees in one of my areas where they felt struck by the community, and they felt terrible,” she said. “They don’t deserve it.”
Robichaud said identical incidents have also occurred at Central Health facilities, where patients and employees have gotten into verbal arguments.
She said that the health authority dispatched a notice to workers in June requesting them to be more respectful in cases that could become aggressive.
Source – CBC News
