Latest news with #hospitalstaff
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Creepy' surgeon charged with groping six female colleagues flicked admin worker's nipple after spotting her piercing, court hears
A top surgeon flicked a female colleague's nipple after spotting her piercing through the bodysuit she was wearing, a court heard today. On another occasion Dr Amal Bose, 55, allegedly squeezed the administrative worker's breasts and said 'I'm just looking for a pen' when she handed him a leaving card to sign, a jury was told. The 'creepy' NHS consultant also responded by seeing her eating a lollipop by saying 'I've got something better for you to suck on', it was alleged. She claimed that when he later stuck his hand inside a wrap dress she was wearing and asked why she was wearing shorts underneath it, she retorted that it was to 'protect from you'. Dr Bose is accused of groping the breasts and bottoms of six female colleagues at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire. Medical staff felt unable to challenge the 'toxic and sexualised' culture he created due to his 'position and authority as a senior consultant', according to the prosecution. Instead hospital workers would attempt to dismiss his behaviour by saying 'That's just Amal', Preston Crown Court has heard. Today jurors were played a recording of a police interview with the administrative worker who is the alleged victim in nine of the 14 counts of sexual assault he faces. She said on one occasion while at work she was eating a lollipop when she encountered Dr Bose, who said: 'I've got something better for you to suck on.' Asked by the detective what she took that to mean, the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - replied: 'A bl*w job.' The woman said Dr Bose's behaviour when she first started working with him was comparatively 'tame'. When new staff joined the department 'we'd always warn them about Amal', she said. But when he was promoted to a more senior role in 2021 it was like someone had 'flicked a switch,' she said, and it got 'progressively worse'. On one occasion she said she was in another consultant's office when Dr Bose came in and began 'looking me up and down, looking at my chest'. 'I had nipple piercings,' she said. 'They were obviously visible, I didn't realise. 'So he flicked my nipple through my bodysuit and then left.' Saying she felt 'mortified' and 'sick', she said she told the other consultant what had happened but he 'wasn't listening'. The incident was a 'green light' to Dr Bose, she said, apparently making him feel: 'What else can I get away with?' But she didn't confront him or complain as he 'would have carried on' anyway, she added. 'On a weekly basis he would smack my bum, he'd grab my boobs,' she said. Later she was in the cramped ward kitchen making her lunch when Dr Bose came in and stuck his hand inside her wrap dress, she said, commenting: 'What have you got shorts on for?' She replied that it was to 'Protect from you,' she told police. The woman said she hadn't worn the 'expensive' dress since then. On another occasion, she said she approached him with a leaving card to sign, only for him to grab her breasts and say: 'I'm just looking for a pen.' She said she replied: 'I don't keep my pens down there Amal.' The witness said she felt 'sick' as she believed other colleagues had seen what he did. 'If someone saw something they'd never admit to it and never challenge it,' she said. But later she said one female colleague walked in on them both in the kitchen while Dr Bose was groping her and asked the consultant: 'What the f*** are you doing?' The doctor allegedly replied: 'I'm just checking her groin.' He then 'smirked' and walked away, she said. The woman said Dr Bose would tug at the waistband of her pants and try to put his hand inside when he found her alone, to which she would tell him to 'pack it in' and 'behave'. She began wearing high-waisted Spanx underwear in order to combat his unwanted advances, she added. Saying there was always 'banter' between medical and administrative staff, she said with other doctors it was 'consensual' and 'we know what lines we can't cross'. But Dr Bose 'would always cross those lines' and 'get a kick out of it,' she said. The 'creepy' consultant allegedly told one nurse that his fantasy was to tie her up and tried to persuade her to go back to a hotel room to 'show her a good time'. However medical staff felt unable to challenge the 'toxic and sexualised' culture he created due to his 'position and authority as a senior consultant', according to the prosecution. Instead hospital workers would attempt to dismiss his behaviour by saying 'That's just Amal', the trial heard. When he was arrested on March 21, 2023, Dr Bose was recorded on police video telling the officer: 'It was only flirting.' Dr Bose is charged with 14 counts of sexual assault on six female colleagues between 2017 and 2022. He denies all the charges.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Employment expert on health staff told no more than five minutes of talking
health employment 12:17 pm today Some Southland Hospital staff have been told they could only talk to each other for no more than five minutes a day. The staff were also instructed not to take their breaks together, according to complaints to the PSA union released under the Official Information Act. The complaints arose among staff at Southern Clinical Records and Coding. Hesketh Henry employment law specialist Alison Maelzer spoke to Charlotte Cook.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Staff to resume parking at Halifax hospitals following backlash
After weeks of complaints, staff at Nova Scotia's biggest hospitals will once again be able to park at work without facing fees of more than $72 dollars a day. Parking has been a point of contention at the Halifax Infirmary and Victoria General sites for years, but tempers flared at the beginning of the month when the province announced parking would be free as of May 1. Staff at the hospitals were told they could no longer park there because spaces were at a premium and patients needed to be the priority. Nova Scotia Health said at peak times, it needs 4,000 more spaces than are available. The move forced some employees to leave significantly earlier than their shifts in order to find a spot in the busy downtown. Some who parked at work in desperation were charged $6 an hour, or $72 for their day shift. The NSGEU, the union representing many workers at the hospital, said that meant some support staff were using nearly half their salaries on parking. In a memo to staff on Friday, Nova Scotia Health said it will open 175 free spaces to staff who show ID to parking attendants. The change will come into effect on Tuesday. The health authority is also backtracking on the fees. The memo says any employee who uses the lots during peak hours and isn't in the staff designated spaces will be charged a cap of $14.50. That's the same amount that was paid before the May changes. The memo also says it's working with the province to enforce a steep fine for anyone caught parking at hospitals who is not an employee, patient or visitor. Those people who abuse the free parking program may be charged $500 a day, but the memo does not say when or how that new fine may be enforced. The changes do not include the IWK Health Centre, which falls under a different health authority.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
PeaceHealth workers are struggling to get their own health care
By now, most folks in Whatcom County have probably seen or heard something about hospital workers fighting for fair pay at PeaceHealth St. Joe's. Not just one, but three unions representing PeaceHealth workers are either on strike or threatening to strike. Our community deserves to know why this is happening. PeaceHealth is paying their executives millions while we — the staff who care for patients — are struggling to afford housing and meet our basic needs. Because of uncompetitive pay at PeaceHealth St Joe's, we can't retain and recruit essential hospital staff necessary to provide the care our community deserves. PeaceHealth St Joe's staff are leaving for better paying medical centers in Skagit, Everett and the Seattle area where they can make livable wages. We are often short staffed and the hospital over-relies on traveling temporary staff who don't know our hospital or our patients' needs like we do. This threatens our ability to provide high quality care to our community. PeaceHealth, a nonprofit health care system headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, is making huge profits. Meanwhile they are ignoring their responsibility to pay fair wages for the essential staff that cares for our community. Tragically, some of our staff are living in their cars, and can't afford food and other basic needs. We stock a food pantry at the hospital for co-workers struggling to make ends meet. What's less well known is that because of reductions and changes to our health benefits, many of us can't afford our own medical care. It takes all of us to deliver essential health care and lifesaving emergency services — yes, doctors and nurses, of course — but also nursing assistants, imaging technicians, housekeeping, pharmacy and dietary services and many other often invisible but critical staff who make low wages. 'Put people above profits' — it's not just a catchy phrase. For hospital workers, it's the difference between health and sickness or even death. Our staff puts patient needs first every day. But our own health care providers are struggling to access and afford essential care like mammograms, cancer treatment, pediatric specialists, X-rays and ER visits. PeaceHealth recently switched our health care coverage, significantly increasing our premiums and co-pays while restricting our choice of providers and reducing our coverage. As the sole provider of health insurance for my family, I can barely cover my premiums. Co-pays are so high I had to reduce my health savings account contributions. I dread the financial hits when my kids get the flu or my husband has to go to the ER. Like many of my colleagues who are leaving for better paying jobs, I too will have to look for another job if PeaceHealth doesn't provide the fair wages and affordable health insurance we deserve. So, when you see us outside on the sidewalk with signs instead of inside caring for patients, now you know why. We are standing up for patients and our coworkers by calling on PeaceHealth to step up and address serious workforce problems. When PeaceHealth pays livable wages and provides affordable benefits they will help ensure quality care for all of us. We deserve respect and fair treatment from hospital executives making million-dollar salaries from the services we provide. We aren't asking for luxury. We just want to be able to live where we work, to earn the same wages as our counterparts in other area hospitals, and to get quality health care and a choice in who provides that care. Going on strike is not easy; it's an additional financial hardship. We would not be doing this if we had any other choice. PeaceHealth could have avoided this strike by bargaining in good faith to reach an agreement with us, not dragging their feet and canceling meetings. We hope our community will stand with us, health care workers, in asking PeaceHealth to do better. Join us on the picket lines, consider donating to our hardship fund. Together, we are making our voices heard. Let's hope PeaceHealth corporate executives are listening. Alisha Mendes is a trauma registrar at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, the only Level II trauma center in northern Washington. PeaceHealth employees announce five-day strike after months of bargaining Health benefits, wages remain front of mind for picketing PeaceHealth nurses PeaceHealth employees say changes to hospital's health insurance limiting access to care
