Sutter Health is under fire after a viral TikTok video appeared to show urgent care staff in Santa Barbara posing with what looks like bodily fluids left behind after patient exams, calling them “gifts” from patients.
The original post was deleted quickly, but not before it spread across the internet. Dozens of users recorded the video, stitched it, and reposted it across TikTok and other platforms.
The backlash was swift. Outraged users flooded TikTok, Reddit, and Yelp with comments condemning the video as disrespectful and damaging to patient trust.
One Yelp reviewer, Joey Boreta, says the video shook his confidence in medical providers.
“I had a doctor’s appointment today, and even though I trust who I was seeing, it was in the back of my mind what Sutter Health had done,” he said.
Sutter Health says it launched an immediate investigation. As of Wednesday, any employees who knowingly participated in the video have been fired. The health system confirmed that the person who posted the video had previously worked for them but left in late July. Officials did not comment on the motivation behind the post.
The TikTok account linked to the video, @angieuncut, has since been deleted.
It remains unclear whether the images were staged by staff or if patients had actually been in the exam rooms beforehand.
Still, the controversy has sparked larger conversations online. Many users are now calling for stricter bans on staff use of social media inside hospitals and clinics. When asked, Sutter Health confirmed it does have a social media policy for employees but declined to provide specifics.
