A New York hospital's staff negligently shaved an elderly Sikh patient's beard, eyebrows and moustache a month before his death, resulting in a lawsuit from his family which received US $ 20,000 in compensation.
The Westchester County Healthcare paid the amount in an out-of-the-court settlement with the family of Pyara Singh
Sahansra, who was suffering from Azheimer's disease, the US-based community organisation 'United Sikhs' said in a
statement on Monday.
Sahansra's family had previously spoken with the hospital staff about Sikhs' religious practice of keeping long hair and had also placed signs on the patient's bed to remind them of this when he was in the long term care of the medical facility in 2007. However, the hospital removed the signs stating that the they were not allowed, but assured the family that Sahansra's
hair would not be cut.
After some time, a new nurse, who was not instructed about the Sikh religious practices, cut Sahansra's beard, eyebrows and moustache, "violating his deeply held religious principles," the statement said. The patient died over a month after the incident which had occurred in June 2007.
In the final settlement with the patient's family, the hospital paid US $ 20,000 in compensation, which also included a provision for training of the facility's employees on Sikh patients' care.
