The Missing Needle Protector – Case Analysis

Incident 9: The Missing Needle Protector – Case Analysis
Name of the Student
Professor
Course
Date
Introduction – Case Summary
The missing needle protector case incurred at the Hopewell Hospital (Hopewell) is one of the ethical controversies experienced in the healthcare discipline. Dr. Cutrite is one of the renowned surgeons in Hopewell with political affiliation. Dr. Cutrite forgot the needle cap inside Mrs. Jameson’s belly. According to the ACHE Code of Ethics, Dr. Cutrite breaches the basic conduct of professional activities (ACHE, 2021). According to APHA (2021), healthcare ethics must reflect moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior from the practitioners to practice permissibility. Under moral awareness, the operating room supervisor informed EL Straight (Straight), the Director of Clinical Services, about the incident. However, Straight ignored the principles of moral judgment by instructing the supervisor to re-operate with Mrs. Jameson without informing the real purpose. Lastly, the hospital management, including the Chief, breaches ethical behavior in healthcare practices by keeping the severity undisclosed to the patient and ensuring that the error is not life-threatening for Mrs. Jameson. Factors contributing to the ethical problem are:
* Ignorance – Dr. Cutrite ignored standard operating procedures (SOPs) during surgery. The event breached patient protection, causing impaired practice (ANA, 2021).
* Non-Disclosure of Information – The authorized healthcare personnel at Hopewell kept the incident hidden from Mrs. Jameson, which could risk her health. Healthcare personnel must disclose potential risks to patients to include beneficence and non-maleficence process controls (Levitt, 2014). However, Hopewell management breached the measures, risking the wellbeing of Mrs. Jameson.
* Misuse of Power – The inter-discussion between Director and Chief underwent the moral judgment of non-disclosure of information. The knowledge power is misused, threatening four principles of biomedical ethics, namely justice, non-maleficence, beneficence, and autonomy (Raus, Mortier & Eeckloo, 2018).
Discussion
Communication and Approaches – Effective and Ineffective
The communication process has mixed views in the provided case scenario. The timely exchange of ethical crisis between the Director and operating room supervisor reflects efficacy and openness in Hopewell. The ethical decision-makers identified the problem early and made necessary considerations to mitigate reputational and wellbeing damage through internal consultation. However, the communication approach was ineffective due to ethical ignorance practiced by the management. According to Moradi, Najarkolai, and Keshmiri (2016), inter-professional teamwork communication is effective in healthcare practices to encourage a patient-centric environment. The exchange of communication between the operating room supervisor and Director, followed by consultation exchanged between the Director and Chief, are effective representations of inter-professional teamwork communication. However, the communication approach mitigated patient centrism in Hopewell’s ethical environment since Mrs. Jameson&r...