NOS News•today, 2:58 PM•Amended today, 3:11 PM
Five nurses in the obstetrics department of the Haga Hospital in The Hague have been summarily dismissed after allegedly stealing medication. This is reported by healthcare website Skipr, one of the largest news websites in healthcare. At least five nurses have also resigned after dissatisfaction about the installation of hidden cameras.
The hospital cannot confirm the reporting because “for privacy reasons they do not make statements about individual cases,” a spokesperson said. Since the beginning of this year, the hospital has been looking hard for new people for the obstetrics department.
Board chairman Peter van der Meer reports to Skipr that there has indeed been “a situation in the obstetrics department that corresponds to this.”
Hidden cameras
According to Skipr, the exodus of nurses happened at the beginning of this year. It was noticed that medicines were disappearing from the pantries. These were drugs for stress and anxiety complaints, such as oxazepam and temazepam.
The hospital then installed hidden cameras. The staff reportedly knew nothing about this. For this reason, according to the healthcare news website, at least five more people from the department have resigned, out of dissatisfaction with the hidden cameras.
Installing hidden cameras in a hospital is allowed according to the Personal Data Protection Act if there is a legitimate interest in doing so. This also includes serious suspicion of theft.
According to the spokesperson, the shortage of staff is “not a sustainable situation”, because it means that three fewer deliveries can take place per month. Temporary workers are working until permanent employees are found again.
