Defining Patient Safety and Quality Care - Essay Example

The nurse did not meet the standards of quality care. To illustrate, the nurse did not notice the psychiatrist leaving the room and she was not cautious about the possibility of danger with the bathroom that had been kept unlocked. Similarly, the psychiatrist neglected to inform the nurse that Judy was alone in the room. The negligence of the nurse and the psychiatrist (ethically) compromised patient safety in this regard.

The nurse was negligent in unlocking the bathroom door and allowing Judy to shower herself. The case study indicates that Judy had high suicidal tendencies and hence, she was admitted to a 24-hour emergency mental health unit. She made a suicide attempt there and was subsequently moved to a 15-minute observation protocol. It reflects that Judy was extremely prone to suicidal thoughts so she might make another suicide attempt at any time. The psychiatrist might not notice that the bathroom door had been unlocked as it was not her responsibility. Here, the nurse should not have allowed Judy who was vulnerable to suicidal thoughts to shower herself. Furthermore, it was the nurse who unlocked the bathroom door and therefore, it was her obligation to ensure that Judy was safe inside the bathroom.

However, it was not below the standard of care for the nurse to leave the bathroom door unlocked when the psychiatrist came to see Judy. The nurse would have been held liable for keeping the bathroom door locked if Judy was alone in the room at that time. Here the psychiatrist had come to see the patient and therefore, it was the responsibility of the psychiatrist to take care of the patient who was under her examination. Therefore, it is not possible to blame the duty nurse for keeping the bathroom door unlocked.

Despite all these, both the psychiatrist and the nurse had a greater duty to this patient from an ethical perspective. The case study indicates that Judy had been suffering from acute depression and suicidal ideation. Furthermore, the patient had made a suicide attempt even when she was in an emergency mental health department. Therefore, Judy needed highly improved patient care when she was moved to a 15-minute observation protocol. Referring to Mitchell (2008), quality care and patient safety are the two fundamental concepts of healthcare. From an ethical perspective, both the psychiatrist and the nurse failed to provide due care to the patient and this negligence ended up in the permanent anoxic brain injury of the patient.

While providing care to patients having suicidal ideation, healthcare practitioners have an ethical obligation to give them a homely environment. Patients with suicidal ideation are highly vulnerable to suicidal thoughts when they are left alone. In addition, suicidal ideation may become intense when the patient is enclosed in a bathroom or bedroom. To avoid this situation and bring those patients back to a normal life, caregivers must frequently interact with them and try to keep them happy always. Therefore the nurse should have never allowed Judy to shower herself in the bathroom.

The psychiatrist and the duty nurse are the defendants in this case. Here, the nurse could potentially be held liable while the psychiatrist could defend her position. From the case study, it is clear that the duty nurse did not notice that the psychiatrist had left Judy’s room. In the same way, the psychiatrist did not inform the nurse that Judy was alone in the room. However, the psychiatrist can defend her position because it was not her duty to inform the duty nurse that the patient was alone in the room. Also, the nurse who was in charge of Judy had the full responsibility to take care of her patient and to stay in the room until the psychiatrist left the patient. More clearly, it was the nurse’s duty to notice that the psychiatrist had left the room. Moreover, the nurse had to be aware of the fact that if the bathroom door was kept unlocked, it might evoke Judy’s suicidal tendencies. Read More