Arizona hospital tells doctor not to return to work after he posted about lack of ICU beds

After posting on social media about the severity of the coronavirus surge in Arizona, Dr. Cleavon Gilman has been asked not to return to his job at Yuma Regional Medical Center, the Arizona Republic reports.

"What I don't understand about this is I have been advocating for Arizona; I have been calling for a mask mandate, the closure of schools and indoor dining," Gilman told The Arizona Republic. "I did all of this because we are seeing an unprecedented number of cases. This is my third surge — I know how this ends."

But in a statement posted Thursday, the hospital said that Gilman is actually scheduled to work this coming weekend, blaming his alleged firing as a "misunderstanding." But according to the Arizona Republic, Gilman has not worked since November 23.

The ordeal began on November 22 when he tweeted that were no more ICU beds available as his hospital. His tweet went viral, and the next day he was told not to come back to work.

"They told me it was because of the tweets and I couldn't believe it because that was accurate information I posted to inform the citizens of Arizona," he said. "It is a grave injustice and it's not just happening to me. Doctors everywhere are afraid to speak up."

"All I know is this hospital is trying to crush my voice, they want to silence me and they want to financially hurt me. This is all so wrong," he added.

This Thursday, the hospital apparently reversed course, saying that it respects "Dr. Gilman's right to share his personal perspective on the pandemic."

"We need good caregivers like Dr. Gilman here," the statement said.