Hospital for Trauma and Surgery sacks gang-beaten Nurse

The Hospital for Trauma and Surgery, Lagos, has forcefully sacked Mary Samuel, a nurse who was gang beaten by relatives of a patient at the hospital.

Samuel told Nursing TV, she was sacked of her duty on Thursday after the management of the hospital accused her of breach of trust.

Termination letter from HTSurgery, Hospital for Trauma and Surgery to Nurse Samuel

The letter reads:

hts
for Trauma and Surgery
09-06-2022
SAMUEL MARY OLUBUNMI
STAFF NURSE
Dear Mary,
NOTICE OF TERMINATION
I apologies that you were harassed by a patient’s relative while carrying out your duties as a
Nurse on the 24th of May 2022, the incident was way beyond our control. Despite the
intervention of management, you have constantly and consistently disregarded authority and
taken your duties for granted, as a Nurse you have a duty of care, skill and professionalism.

We regret to inform you that your employment with Hospital for trauma and surgery has
officially been terminated. As discussed, our decision was based on conflict of interest and
Breach of trust.
Your salary for June will be paid in full.
Please keep in mind that you have signed an employee confidentiality agreement. If you have
any information about our patient, employees or other stakeholders stored on paper or on your
personal devices, you must delete it immediately.
Thank you for your act of service to the hospital and our patients during your period of
employment with HTSurgery, we wish you success in your future endeavors.
Sincerely
Abimbola Ogbara Etiko
Human Resource Manager

Interview with Nurse Samuel Mary who was sacked from Hospital for Trauma and Surgery

A correspondent of the Nursing Media Network, Nursing TV, reached out to her after a consistent alarm was raised by the Aluta Nurse on Twitter from the inception of the assault.

She narrated below:

It happened on May 24, 2022, when I returned to work about 8 a.m. and was assigned to a patient alongside another nurse.
Around 12:20, the male nurse in charge of the patient was summoned to take another patient to the ambulance.

And then he handed me his patient, indicating she needed pain relief by 1 P.M.
At around 12:50 p.m., Mrs. (name withheld), the patient who was handed over to me, pressed her bell, requesting the nurse’s attention, and I went to meet her. She told me she was in pain and wanted her pain relief medication, which I told her was due by 1 p.m. but I would give it to her now because she was in pain.

since she is already in agony and I went out to make the medications I went out to prepare the meds and about 12:58 P.M I walked in to give her.

At 1:30 P.M, she hit the bell again, and I walked in. She asked when her next prescription was, and I told her, and she replied okay.

At 2 p.m., she pressed the bell again, and I went in; she said she was in pain and that even if it was paracetamol, I should give it to her; in the meantime, the paracetamol IV was still running, and I informed her that the paracetamol was already up, and she replied okay.

At 2:30, she rang again, saying she was in agony. I told her I couldn’t offer her anything and that I had already given her the essential drugs. Her next medication time is at 6 p.m.

She rang again a few minutes later, and I requested the nursing assistant to see her because she needed to pee. And then she asked the lady when her next medicine was due, and she came to tell me, and I told her, and she went to inform her.
She pressed the bell at 3 p.m. and stated that she was in discomfort. I explained again, and she said she would report me to my employer, and I told her that I couldn’t go against the doctor’s prescription.

At that time, I went to see my Head of Department and another nurse to report the issue.
My H.O.D stated that she does not wish to go to her room and that I should notify the doctor on call.
I immediately went to the doctor on call and reported everything, and he said he would go see her, which he did, and prescribed a pill for me to give her, which I gave her with her 4pm meds.

When her nurse returned, I promptly handed her over to her with all actions documented.
At 6 p.m., she requested her prescriptions, and when the male nurse arrived, she refused to be treated and stated that she wanted me. Meanwhile, the male nurse stated, quote, “he heard her screaming on the phone telling her family that I refused to give her pain medication all day and that they should come to the hospital.”
In the end, she refused the male nurse’s treatment, saying she wanted me, and he phoned the doctor for her. The doctor spoke to the MD, who ordered that she be given pump morphine, which she also refused.

We received a call about 6:30 to prepare the ICU for two burn patients, so everyone went downstairs to prepare the ICU, leaving me alone at the nursing station so I could attend to the two patients on the ward when they called.
Around 7 p.m., I was sitting alone at the nursing station with my phone when two of her sisters arrived.

And the next remark was, “Are you Mary?”
I identified myself as Mary, a nurse.

The second person said, “So you’re the Mary that made their sister cry over the phone.”
And when I asked how, she just shouted, “Shut up, see how you’re even talking to me, you’re very rude.”
I then tried to explain, but they simply shut me up, called me stupid, and began insulting me.

The second person threatened to jack and slap me if I said anything.
During this period, a call came in from reception, which I answered, and while I was on the phone, they kept shouting, and when a nurse from in the hospital came up to pick something up, she ran downstairs to call our team lead, and I stood up to leave the place and attend to the call I received because I saw the heat.

One of them just walked past me.
And she attempted to slap me. So I shoved her hand away and walked away when the elderly lady said, “Did you just push her?” The younger one grabbed my dress and shoved me against the wall at that point. The older woman then slapped me across the face.

Hospital for Trauma and Surgery, Nurse Samuel Mary Neck bruises from attack

Hospital for Trauma and Surgery, Nurse Samuel Mary Neck bruises 1

Nurse Samuel sacked from Hospital for Trauma and Surgery

I was on the floor before anybody could get in, and both of them were beating me up.
We were separated, and I was taken to a room where they threatened me and tried to break into it. They called me names, my uniform torn, and left marks on my neck and face.

The MD first claimed that she would be discharged right away; but, after some discussion with, he returned and requested me to go apologize to her, which I refused.”

Video evidence showing the Nurse Samuel aggressors in Hospital for Trauma and Surgery, HTSurgery

This is not the first time hospital administrators will be throwing nurses under the wheel, many nurses have challenged such acts and have won seamlessly, where hospitals pay a very hefty fine for such act, as a patient’s right should not be infringed, so should, administrators respect the nurses bill of rights which states all the rights for nurses.

Nursing TV will continue to follow this case closely until justice is gotten.

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