An IC nurse from the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg has been fired for sharing stories about his patients in a video of an anti-vaccination organization on the internet. He also unjustly snooped in patient files. According to the judge, the dismissal is justified, but the man may keep his severance payment of more than 74,000 euros.
The man worked for the hospital in Tilburg for more than 42 years. At the start of the corona crisis, he posted something striking about vaccinations on Twitter. “Most doctors are just brainwashed,” he wrote. The man therefore received a warning from the hospital a few days later.
Suspended
Last September, he again incurred the wrath of his bosses. He was a guest on a talk show of the antivax organization for over an hour.Foundation Extra-Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry 2020′† That foundation calls for the vaccination campaign to be stopped. The video was circulated via the internet and shadowy forums.
In the broadcast, he said, among other things, that a patient had died of a brain haemorrhage as a result of vaccination. According to the hospital, this is not correct at all and the patient died of corona. Therefore, the nurse was suspended for three weeks. The broadcast was later removed.
Commitment to patients
The man said during the lawsuit that he has always “dedicated one hundred percent for the patients” for more than 42 years. Plus, he’s never gotten into trouble at work before. The man admitted that he should have told the hospital that he was going to participate in the program.
The nurse did not mention the names of his patients in the broadcast, but did describe a lot of details. “There is a chance that patients or relatives will recognize themselves in the story,” the judge said. In addition, the employee was wrongly looking for information in patient files. The judge also blamed him for that.
The judge was allowed to make most statements about corona and vaccination. The man did not want to purposely harm the hospital and has the right to express his opinion, the judge said. That is why he is allowed to keep his full severance payment of more than 74,000 euros.
The defendant’s attorney declined to comment on the verdict. The hospital says in a response: “The ETZ believes that the employee has acted culpably towards (family) of patients, direct colleagues and the ETZ as a hospital and employer.”
“In the opinion of the subdistrict court, there is a reasonable ground to dissolve the employment contract on the basis of the arguments submitted. In addition, we note that the subdistrict court also believes that we have proceeded very carefully with this tedious but necessary procedure.”
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