A Cape Town nurse was told to leave the hospital where she works after she reported for duty with no front teeth.
|||Cape Town - A veteran nurse was told to leave the hospital and go home after she reported for work with no front teeth.
The 52-year-old woman literally lost her smile when a thief stole her false teeth during a burglary recently.
Last Friday, the Ravensmead woman was forced to take time off work by her bosses because of her toothless grin.
She told the Daily Voice that bosses at N1 City hospital told her she would not be allowed to return until she replaced her missing front teeth.
“The dentures were stolen from my bathroom while I was off last week,” said the embarrassed woman who asked not to be identified.
“On Wednesday evening I forgot to close the window and they [thief] must have taken it at that time. I only realised my teeth were gone on Thursday afternoon when I wanted to go visit my sister-in-law.”
She said her grandchild’s soap and shampoo were among the items stolen from her bathroom.
The woman – who has been working at N1 City hospital for nearly 20 years – said she did not want to stay away from work unnecessarily the next day and headed into the medical facility as usual.
Little did she know her empty smile would land her in trouble.
“At work they asked me where my teeth were and one of my colleagues even said I must wear a surgical mask to cover it up,” she said.
“I jokingly put on the mask but I didn’t want to make it obvious and have the patients think that I have a disease.”
But the jokes faded when her manager walked in and questioned her about her missing teeth.
And by 9am, she was told to go back home.
“She [manager] said I can’t work like this and I must go home to sort it out and come back once I have my teeth,” she explains.
“I was put on leave but I haven’t signed anything yet and until now I am not sure if it is unpaid leave or my annual leave.”
Speaking from her home on Monday with just her bottom dentures, the woman said the gold slit in her stolen teeth have special meaning.
“It is a small piece of gold but it had sentimental meaning to me, it belonged to my ta-ta [grandfather],” she told the Daily Voice.
“I’ve had dentures for most of my life but I never went without my teeth. Most people didn’t even know I had dentures until now.
“I can barely eat properly because of this.
“I had to get a new set made at the hospital which cost me R2 900 and this also puts a dent in my budget.
“I don’t know what is going to happen if the new dentures are not done in time because my next shift starts on Friday.”
Meanwhile Netcare Regional Director Ian Goble said: “The matter is at present under investigation as the management who dealt with this case is currently on leave.”
Public appearance is very important in certain places, and an employer has the right to ask employees to adhere to these practices, a labour lawyer said when asked about the legalities of what happned to this nurse.
The public image of a company is an operational requirement.
The labour lawyer said that an employer can ask an employee not to work when certain requirements are not met.
One example of an operational requirement would be when companies shut down over the holiday period at the end of the year. Most employees “force” workers to take their annual leave over that period.
This [particular issue] is not a common situation. For me it is more a question of annual leave versus sick leave. And in my opinion this should be sick leave. This lady can submit a sick leave form with a medical certificate, in this case from a dentist or dental technician. The discretion for the employee to take off from work always lies with the employer, according to the lawyer.
Daily Voice