Question

Liam is the facility manager at a residential aged care facility. The service provides independent living units, community nursing and home care packages, day centre visits, respite care, palliative care, and dementia specific care, to older people. Liam is responsible for managing legal and ethical compliance within the organisation, ensuring the facility’s AHPRA registration and accreditation are up to date, and maintaining collaborative and effective relationships with all multidisciplinary team members.

Lucy, a casual nurse, comes to work with symptoms of gastroenteritis. She knows that she should have stayed home but she knew the service was going to be short staffed. After carrying out her duties for three hours, Lucy talks to her manager, Janice, in the tea room. She explains her symptoms and that she is feeling weak and unsteady.

Janice tells her to go home immediately as gastroenteritis is highly contagious and could pose a severe health risk to residents and other staff members.

That evening, four residents develop gastroenteritis. Liam has left work for the day but receives a phone call from the night nursing unit manager alerting him to the spread of virus (herein called ‘the incident’). Liam responds immediately by ordering the service into lock down. One of the residents who contracted the virus is taken to hospital for treatment and is in a critical condition. Liam organises refresher training for all staff with regard to duty of care. Liam receives an incident report form from Janice regarding Lucy’s illness.

He thinks that because of Lucy’s failure to comply with organisational work health and safety procedures relating to infection control, the organisation has breached its duty of care to provide residents with a safe and healthy care environment.

a. Describe the consequences or penalties Liam’s organisation might face as a result of breaching its duty of care to residents. (Approx. 60 words)

b. Identify the specialist legal experts Liam could contact to obtain advice on the rights and responsibilities of the organisation, workers and the residents involved in the incident. (Approx. 100 words).

Answer 1

Answer to 1st question:

A breach of duty happened due to nurse has duty of care toward total organisation but failed to live up to that standard and result in spreading of infection among residents.

--The consequences or penalties Liam's organisation might face due to Breaching its duty of care to Residents are usually Financial and Reputational damage to organisation happens under pressure.The organisation might settle financially for breaching after decided in court of law. This penality is usually very expensive and time consuming process which leads to developing negative image in public.

--Due to this the organisational reputation will damage and it affects the morale of other people in organisation. This creates negative impression, pressure in residents who stays within organisation and people outside who connect to them.

Answer to 2nd question:  

In this situation, Liam should seek legal advice to prevent further damage or any problem within organisation.

- Attorney or any private lawyer or Specialists from Community legal centers, liam could contact for legal advice. Community legal centres are indipendent and non-for profit community organisations that provide free legal service to public. Specialists from Community legal centers can help in human rights , welfare , group of older people with health illness and legal advice on  rights and responisibilities .

--Liam as a manager must provide leadership and take necessary steps to the organisation in this situation by communicating internally with management team and other care providers and externally contact with legal attorney or specialists from legal centers for further action.

---The legal team gives advice that Liam should consider the prevention of spreading infection among the residents. The remaining nurses who are health care providers can only reduce the spreading of infection in residents and provide treatment to them by cross training them with extra precautions and requirements.

-- In case of emergency situations decision must be taken quickly however with careful consideration must be taken at every step. The healthcare providers to residents are encouraged to develop the disease management , prevention of spreading infection, and provide plan to reduce level of risk and liability.

-- in this situation to residents must provide care with step by step action plan to handle infection most effectively and efficiently.