“Completely Unacceptable”: KZN Nurse Suspended After Viral Video Shows Patient Alleged Assault
- The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health condemned a viral video showing a nurse assaulting a patient at King Dinuzulu Hospital
- The nurse was placed on precautionary suspension with immediate effect while an internal investigation gets underway
- The department warned that corporal punishment has no place in public healthcare facilities
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Briefly News as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Source: UGC
KWAZULU NATAL - A nurse at King Dinuzulu Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal has been placed on precautionary suspension after a video surfaced online showing her physically assaulting a patient inside a hospital ward.
The footage, which spread rapidly on X (formerly Twitter), captured the nurse standing beside a patient's bed, pointing at the patient.The two exchanged words before the nurse moved towards another patient on an adjacent bed.
KZN Health department acts swiftly
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health responded firmly once the video came to its attention.
PAY ATTENTION: You can now search for all your favourite news and topics on Briefly News.
"The Department unequivocally condemns this behaviour in the strongest possible terms," it said in a statement.
The department described the nurse's conduct as a direct violation of the values that public healthcare workers are expected to uphold.
"The conduct displayed in the video is completely unacceptable, violates the core values of our healthcare system, and will not be tolerated under any circumstances," it said.
Acting without delay, the department announced the nurse's suspension pending a full internal investigation.
"The nurse in question will be placed on precautionary suspension with immediate effect, pending a full and thorough internal investigation into the matter," the statement read.
Disciplinary action on the cards
Officials stressed that the investigation was being treated as a matter of urgency and reaffirmed that patients using public healthcare facilities are entitled to dignified treatment at all times.
"Corporal punishment has no place in our facilities, and we are committed to ensuring that all patients are treated with the dignity, respect, and care they deserve," the department said.
The department also assured the public that should the investigation find sufficient grounds, appropriate disciplinary steps would follow against the nurse involved.
The video triggered widespread concern among social media users, with many raising questions about how vulnerable patients are treated within the country's public health system.
Articles on nurse assault
Briefly News reported that the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga demanded that the role two nurses played in the assault of a patient who died be investigated. The patient, Lydia Makhoba, was taken to the hospital for her diabetic foot and hypertension to be treated.
A 69-year-old doctor has been arrested in Newcastle following allegations that he sexually assaulted female patients at a Madadeni hospital
A nurse allegedly punched an ambulance driver who was transporting a critically ill child outside Stanger Hospital in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
