Video of nurse on mobile while giving patient breathing assistance goes viral

After video of a nurse using her mobile phone while providing breathing assistance to a patient went viral on social media, the Johor Health Department (JKN) has vowed to investigate the serious incident.

JKN director Dr Selahuddeen Abd Aziz has said that initial investigations by the department, as well as by Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) where the incident happened, have confirmed that the patient is still under treatment.

The health department and hospital officials have met with the patient’s family to discuss the matter, and get more information over the shocking clip. It is unclear who took the video that was then shared across social media.

Taking to their Facebook page, JKN wrote that a committee of specialists and a nursing supervisor had been assembled to look into the matter.

Dr Selahuddeen also added that HSA has their own standard operating procedures when it comes to the treatment of patients who require respiratory assistance while waiting to be sent to the Intensive Care Unit, and that any failure to comply with these rules by staff would be taken seriously. Negligence would result in stern consequences.

He also reminded social media users, and those with cameras on their phones, that taking photos or videos of patients inside any Health Ministry buildings violated ethics and patient confidentiality laws.

Which brings to mind every consequentialist’s favorite question: Do the ends justify the means? We’ll be pondering this moral dilemma while staring into the abyss of our black coffee.