The Institut d'Assistència Sanitària has dismissed a worker from the Hospital Santa Caterina de Salt following an internal and external investigation into an alleged case of sexual harassment detected in the center's psychiatry unit in Girona.
The action comes after the service managers activated the protocol for the prevention, investigation, and management of sexual harassment or harassment based on sex in November 2024. The paradox of the case is that the possible harassment situation was detected among professionals within the hospital itself and ended with the employee's dismissal for offenses that the investigation partly classified as very serious.
The hospital activated the protocol in November 2024 after detecting indications in psychiatry
The managers of the psychiatry unit identified a possible harassment situation among workers and initiated the procedure provided by the entity. From there, the IAS opened the investigation to clarify the facts.
The process included an external investigation, which concluded that the analyzed facts constituted various offenses. Some were classified as minor and others as very serious, and the institute chose to dismiss the worker for the latter.
According to Diari de Girona, at least a dozen affected individuals reported sexist and homophobic comments, touching, and abuse of power in the workplace. The case focuses on the internal functioning of a care service at Hospital Santa Caterina.
The IAS commissioned a restorative process to repair the damage in the service
Once the summary files were closed, the IAS hired a company specializing in restorative processes to support the unit in repairing the damage. Staff participation in this support is voluntary.
In addition to the dismissal, the entity publicly stated its position on the case. The IAS expressed its commitment to equality and reiterated its zero tolerance for any harassment situation.
The support measure was activated after the summary files were finalized and is being applied in the affected service of Hospital Santa Caterina de Salt, with voluntary participation from the staff.