A veteran EMT working for Magen David Adom was fired two weeks ago after she photographed a dead body after the person jumped to his death and posted the photo to WhatsApp. The employee worked in the EMS’s teaching division as well, but officials explain her seniority and good standing in the organization cannot permit such a gross violation of patient confidentiality. The employee was summoned before a disciplinary board on MDA in the Gush Dan district and the decision was made to dismiss her from her position.
The employee insists she was not at the scene and she did not take the photo, but simply passed it along after receiving it. She feels MDA is overreacting.
A friend of the employee who was dismissed wrote a letter to MDA officials on her behalf, asking that they reconsider. They feel the punishment in this case far exceeds the crime.
It does not appear that she will be reinstated.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
High time, hopefully this will be a strong signal to all the people involved in emergency work at all the different organizations that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable, as is posting addresses and nature of calls to WhatsApp or similar services.
Hopefully either everyone will stop or a few more people will get fired/expelled from MDA and UH and this terrible phenomenon may end.