On Saturday, September 20, Jimmie Prahl was working in the emergency room at Hudiksvall Hospital when a colleague was killed on duty. He spoke to a number of journalists about the incident and how he wanted to see a change in the safety of ambulance personnel.
The staffing company where Jimmie Prahl is employed later received an email in which the Gävleborg region wrote that he was dismissed "due to the incidents" linked to him after the weekend.
I was met by a manager on my second shift after the incident and was not welcomed back to work, either in the ambulance or the emergency room, he says.
"The cancellation occurs when the business has experienced difficulties in cooperation (including communication and treatment) with the consultant as well as deficiencies in compliance with core values and adherence to procedures, which has resulted in patient safety being considered at risk," the email states.
“No complaints”
There are no complaints written in internal deviation systems and no report to the Inspectorate for Health and Social Care. On the contrary, I have received praise from the unit managers, says Prahl.
The incidents that the region refers to are, according to him, partly due to deficiencies in hygiene routines, which he denies, and partly due to him deviating from a work shift to attend a memorial service for his colleague.
It was on the advice of the head nurse, he says.
He himself believes it's because he talked to journalists.
I think it was difficult because I have strong opinions and that, without choosing it myself, I was given a place in the media where I expressed the uncertainty that we have felt for a long time.
The region responds
For confidentiality reasons, Region Gävleborg cannot go into details about employees, but writes in a comment that the reasons given for termination "always reflect the actual grounds."
"Contacts with the media are not grounds for terminating an assignment. Freedom of information and freedom of expression are statutory rights that we protect," writes communicator Mimmi Shehu.
The region writes that they take allegations of a culture of silence seriously.
"If a person believes they have been dismissed for incorrect reasons, they should contact their union or legal advice to have the matter reviewed."
Jimmie Prahl has got a new job in another region and says he "does not intend to fight" for the job in Region Gävleborg.
So far, there is no factual criticism for me to respond to, he says.
