Nurses are the leading healthcare providers in hospitals where they help patients in the recovery journey. With the help of doctors, they offer services like administering medicines to the sick and monitoring their progress. They also record critical medical histories for follow-up for the conditions (Booth et al., 2021). They have been equipped with essential skills and knowledge, offering quality services. Additionally, they must possess proficient communication and leadership to make their workplace conducive. This paper provides a report for a case study in the book “Chance of Survival Diminished.”
On May 20, in the afternoon, Mr. Ard, who was sick, started developing feelings of nausea. He experienced difficulties in breathing and severe pain. The only person in his company was his wife. She tried to alert the neighbors or anyone passing by to offer help by ringing the call bell. All her efforts were in vain since it seemed that no one was around to hear the alert. After a long period of time, someone later in the evening heard the cry and came to offer help. After examining the sick, he gave Ard nausea medication to see if it could be of any help. However, Ard’s condition worsened even after using the drugs.
Ard’s wife, after close examining him, discovered that he was having difficulties in breathing. This was due to how he was behaving as he was staggering from one side of the bed to the other. This made her become very worried about her husband’s condition. She developed feelings of fear and thought that her husband was at the verge of dying. With much anxiety, she decided to call for help again, hoping that someone could offer a better alternative. The estimated time the bell rang was 1.25 hours before she could get assistance. A medical code was finally called, but it was unfortunate for him; he died before receiving care and proper medication.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Ard did not receive any checkup from either the nurse or physician. This was clearly evidenced by the lack of medical records between 5:30 PM and 6:45 PM on May 20. Mrs. Ard gave a detailed testimony proving that the healthcare providers failed to act quickly. They could have saved his life if they had taken the case as an emergency. This could be further be attributed to ignorance, and serious legal actions could be taken.
The relevant legal issues are the need to seek justice. Mrs. Ard decide to go and report the case to the district court. They declared that the hospital caused a wrongful death to Ard, and granted necessary judgment. An expert in the nursing profession, known as Ms. Krebs, explained that the nurses failed to take action for the ailing patient. Notes from the doctor’s progress could have indicated that Ard had risks for breathing. The nurse notes nor the care plan ever responded to this condition and therefore found guilty.
A patient reporting in the emergency unit needs head-to-toe physical examinations by the doctors to estimate the level of sickness. When Ard arrived at the healthcare facility, he was assigned a nurse who was Ms. Florsheim, to examine his condition critically and seek further medical attention. However, this nurse failed to fully assess the lung and respiratory status. The patient only vomited, and upon examining the records, there were no records of any evaluation after the act. Further, it was stated from the nursing expert that no record showed a complete evaluation after the patient vomited.
The assigned nurse claimed to have taken care of the patient as required. He said he had checked on the patient’s status at around 6:00 PM on May 20, despite of lacking any supporting evidence. Documentations on the medical records had not been filled that day, indicating that this patient was under no extreme care. An expert who was a witness to defend Mrs. Ard’s case said that if a patient in such a condition lacked care for such long hours, he could be so critical to be saved.
The event could have been prevented if quick responses had been given to the patient. Firstly, her wife was the most responsible person in helping the husband in such a critical condition. Identifying difficulties in breathing could facilitate a first aid procedure where he could lay Ard in a resting passion and loosen any tight clothing if possible. Failure to be aware of the first aid procedure could push her to immediately take the patient to the hospital with a hired vehicle. Further, she could have called a nearby neighbor with her phone and requested them to signal a nearby vehicle to take his husband to the hospital.
On arrival, nurses could have taken this emergency case and immediately started a medical diagnosis for Ard. A physical examination of the patient and a record of any conditions by the healthcare givers could lead to a better treatment plan (Shorey & Wong, 2021). Most importantly, the status of the lung and respiratory systems could be examined seriously since difficulties in breathing were reported as the main problem. After the patient vomited, further evaluation could have been made to save his life. Further, Ard’s wife could ask for an alternative of transferring the patient to another facility after seeing the ignorance and failure of nurses to take action. This could have saved his life if he had met nurses willing to take on their duties without supervision. Examination and administration of the required medication and care would restore Ard’s condition and avoid accidental death.
Patient education is critical in informing individuals of standard first-aid practices for critical conditions. The government, through social media channels, can podcast these practices to reduce cases of death. Further, preventive measures for some common conditions associated with age can be taught for easy management (Beykmirza et al., 2022). For instance, exercising regularly helps people keep fit and burn excess calories which are harmful to the body. A balanced diet helps provide the body with the required nutrients to fight developing diseases.
Verdict
Since the case presented above is critical, I can make a verdict that primarily affects the hospital where Ard was admitted. Since legal procedures are taken when hospitals begin operating, specific rules and regulations must be followed adequately. Healthcare workers have signed agreements on the terms and conditions of work which must be obeyed. Patient care is among the top priorities in any medical facility. Therefore, anyone who is found guilty of going against the set policies must face legal action.
In most cases, no mistakes barely result from one person. From this scenario, I would first investigate the state of hospital systems to justify whether, in one way, they could hinder the nurse from performing their duties. Failure of the hospital to equip itself with modern facilities would create a gap in treatment. The hospital would therefore be sued since the mistakes mainly originated from poor planning and organization.
Secondly, the nurse in charge during the diagnosis period is guilty and must be charged in a court of law. Ignorance and failure to take duties assigned would go against the code of ethics governing nursing. Accountability in the profession is an ethic that must be fulfilled. Nurses who have fully been registered should follow the laws and regulations set and keep their standards while on duty. He will be therefore required to compensate Ard’s wife for the mistakes caused leading to the death of his husband.
I would further demand the hospital management to monitor their workers to ensure the sick are getting the care they need in time. In most hospitals, primarily government-owned, healthcare givers do not take their duties seriously. They concentrate on other activities like online chatting, forgetting they are in a critical setup. The value and dignity of human life must be respected and upheld. Patients’ complaints must also be responded to since, in some setups, they are ignored.
Further, patients’ records done by nurses must be checked by the hospital management daily to ensure complete tasks are done. This could serve as evidence in case patients complain about the services and care they receive while in hospitals. Further, the privacy of information should be highly upheld by backing the data in online portals. Strong passwords to such sites should be used to avoid illegal access by unauthorized individuals. Patients can also save time by interacting with doctors online for home treatment.
References
Beykmirza, R., Nikfarid, L., Negarandeh, R., Sarkhani, N., & Moradi Cherati, M. (2022). Develop and validate an instrument to measure pediatric nurses’ adherence to ethical codes.BMC Medical Ethics, 23(1).
Booth, R., Strudwick, G., McBride, S., O’Connor, S., & Solano López, A. (2021). How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future.BMJ, n1190.
Shorey, S., & Wong, P. (2021). A systematic qualitative review on nurses’ experiences of workplace bullying and implications for nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 77(11), 4306–4320.