Question

Read the following scenario and respond to it as a risk manager.

Mr. And Mrs. Watros came to the Memorial Hospital for the delivery of their first child. While Mrs. Watros was in labor, the couple had to wait for nearly two hours to get a room. During that time, no hospital nurse attended to her. As the waiting room was full of patients, an exhausted Mrs. Watros sat on the floor. Mr. Watros reported this to a nurse. The nurse responded that it was past her shift, and she could do nothing.

These problems were later reported to a physician. The physician said, “It is just the way things go wrong here sometimes. You just have to get used to it.”

After delivery, the nurse carrying the infant slipped. The baby was unharmed. The explanation given was, “there was disinfectant fluid on the floor, which makes the floor a little slippery.”

On discharge, Mr. and Mrs. Watros decided to sue the hospital. The physician admitted negligence and poor treatment, but did not see a reason to apologize.

Put yourself in the position of all the people involved (as well as the hospital), and describe what could have been done differently

Your focus as a Risk Manger is prevention and your analysis should be directed at preventing the initial action as well as re-actions.

Answer 1

when Mrs.Watros reach the hospital with labour pain, as an active member of midwife team immediately begins general and obstetrical assessment ,eventhough the setting was full of patients priority should be given according patients condition . the results that obtain will be informed to the consultant and record the admission of the patient with no time. the condition of the patient is well explain to Mr.Watros .When my duty shift is getting finished i handover all the patient details to my fellow collegue and try to introduce her to Mr.Watros for further proceedings. This help him to identify the nurse who is in charge of his wife to update her condition.

When a patient complain regarding the poor treatment method of nurses in hospital setting as a physician i need to take the situation seriously and promise them it wont happen again. the nurses who are responsible for this has to be warned for their misbehaviour.

After the delivery, the baby has to be properly mumified and transported to the wards. In case of any accidental fall the nurse has to write the incident report clearly stating the reason for the accident and immediate action should be taken by the hospital management. In case of disinfectant liquid on the floor as a risk manager immediately inform to the housekeeping department to clean the floor to prevent the accident fall.

if the hospital management identifies the negligence and poor treament there should be some courtesy to apolagize