Tesla Workers Medical Claims Disputed By Clinic Operator
FREMONT (CBS SF) – As Tesla faces scrutiny over the conditions at its electric car factory in Fremont, a new report claims the medical clinic intended to help injured workers ignored them.
However, Dr. Basil Besh, owner of Access Omnicare, strongly denied the report's finding.
"Rather than deliver an informative and balanced piece of journalism, Reveal has instead chosen to hitch its wagon to Ms. Anna Watson, a provider with whom we severed ties after less than two weeks at our clinic and about whom I cannot provide any additional comment as she is currently the subject of an investigation by the California Medical Board," Besh said in a statement to CBS 5.
In a nearly 4,000-word report by the Center For Investigative Reporting's Reveal News, former employees claimed the clinic operated by Access Omnicare was pressured to reduce injury counts in numerous ways.
The report said medical staff was reportedly told not to call 911 without permission, urged patients to take Lyft to the hospital for treatment and denied use of certain medical equipment that would trigger an injury report.
"All members of my team are empowered to call 911 for any limb or life-threatening condition," Dr. Besh said.
"I gave specific examples of protocol improvements and subsequent successes in outcomes in only four short months, including accurate diagnoses and reducing needless delays for advanced testing and treatment," Dr. Besh continued. "I patiently educated Will Evans (the author of the Reveal piece) on how Tesla allowed me to give the same care to Tesla employees that I do to my private patients including ones who are professional athletes, with the ability to get necessary testing and treatment in a timely manner without being hindered by an often cumbersome California Worker's Compensation System that sometimes negatively effects injured workers."
Reveal also claimed that the clinic had frequently turned away temporary employees and left medical assistants unsupervised on the night shift.
Dr. Besh denied the article's claim.
"Any suggestion that myself or any of my medical team at AOC allow external factors to influence our medical care in any way is false and inaccurate," Dr. Besh said in the statement to KPIX 5.
"As a physician, my foremost obligation is to perform a careful history and physical examination, order additional tests when clinically indicated, make an accurate diagnosis, and deliver the absolute best care possible," Besh said. "If patients are injured and continued work presents safety issues for the patient, myself and my fellow physicians prescribe the appropriate work restrictions."
The automaker has not commented on the latest report.