Critical Decision-Making in Failure-to-Report Cases

Critical Decision Making
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Introduction
Mike is in a dilemma involving some spill on the floor in the reception lobby, next to his workplace. The dilemma is as a result of the fact that he is almost late for work, and any further delay in clocking in will compromise his reporting time. Considering that he had received prior warnings from his boss, any further delay through wiping the spill from the floor would mean him losing his job. He therefore thought of going over it, considering the fact that the people responsible to clean it up, were also clocking in the same way he was.
What were the consequences of a failure to report?
Reporting about the incident to the relevant authorities will most certainly prevent another accident from happening. Considering that this is a hospital setup, there is bound to be quite a lot of movement around the lobby, and hence the safety of people there might be compromised with the spill on the floor. Therefore, reporting it would help avert a real, impending accident. Patient safety is usually paramount, in any hospital setup, and it is upon the staff to ensure that the supporting environment is safe, fore even the treatment process begins (Vincent & Amalberti, 2016). Contrary to it, Mike fails to report and this result in a serious injury to one of his patients.
Mike fails to report due to the fear that he will have to explain to his boss why he is late again, considering he had already been warned against lateness before. The patient seems to have suffered a hip fracture, and is in need of further medical attention. Failing to report also means that Mike has gone against his professional ethics, which basically relies on reporting of accurate information, and in fine detail. After the realization of his mistake, the guilt eats him up, but then again, he is still in another dilemma. If he goes ahead to report on his knowledge of the spill, then it would cause even further damage on him, as it would mean he would lose his job on the grounds of negligence. Therefore, failure to report has resulted in a greater injury, the risk of further injuries, and a disturbed conscience for Mike.
What impact did his decision have on patient safety, on the risk for litigation, on the organization's quality metrics, and on the workload of other hospital departments?
His decision to fail to report the incident definitely had serious impacts on not only himself, but also the hospital. Considering that it is the hospital’s most important duty to maintain safety at all times, reporting the spill should have been paramount(Vincent & Amalberti, 2016). Mike should perhaps have informed his supervisor that he would be a bit late because he was cleaning up the spill from the floor. In some way, his boss would have understood, since it would still play to the greater...