Patient complains of privacy breach at Powai hospital

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Days after a Twitter thread about improper touch by a doctor at Nanavati Hospital went viral, another incident of privacy breach of a patient came to light at Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. The woman, on Twitter, claimed that when she went for ECG, a male staff member walked in the room when she had not dressed appropriately. She has demanded that the hospital investigate and take strict action.

The 35-year-old woman posted on Saturday, "Today during an ECG test at the Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, a man from housekeeping staff walked in as I was lying alone on the bed not clothed, the machine still hooked up to me. The curtains were drawn but the man still came inside while I was in that compromising position…"

"The nurse did not do my ECG test in a private room and had taken me to the casualty ward, where she put me on a bed and drew the curtain around me. This after she assured me no one would come in...She should have taken me to a private room. I feel exposed, embarrassed and insulted"

"I wanted to make a complaint but the nurse minimised my experience and refused to give me the name of the staffer who by then had begun to apologise. She was speaking to the other nurses, discussing my situation and brushing it off like it meant nothing! which was infuriating! I then stormed off to the front counter and demanded to meet the manager... They apologised but it did nothing to make me feel better," she posted.

When mid-day contacted her, she said, "No, I'm not filing a police complaint but I want the hospital's internal complaint committee to investigate the issue and take appropriate action."

Hiranandani hospital says

Meanwhile, the hospital statement read: "In the emergency ward, we have six beds in ward style which are fully covered with curtains. This patient was taken to a corner bed for additional privacy. As the ECG was taken the nurse went to get a file folder. Meanwhile, another patient required an ECG done, so the housekeeping staff, unaware that there is a patient inside, entered the cubicle to retrieve the machine. He immediately rushed out and informed the nurse. The duty manager was informed and came to the department. She investigated the matter and realised the error had been made unknowingly.

However, the manager and the housekeeping staff and the nurse profusely apologised. There is already a committee to look into such things… It will certainly investigate this incident in the next two working days and decide an appropriate action."