Manfred Mortell RN*

Department of School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, University of the Bahamas, Bahamas

*Corresponding Author: Manfred Mortell RN, Department of School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, University of the Bahamas, Bahamas.

Received: June 13, 2022; Published:

Abstract

“Failure to rescue” is a matter that fosters patient morbidity and mortality related to medical errors. The inquiry confronted in this short communication is, “why are patients “failing to be rescued” by healthcare professionals (HCP)?” This short communication examines and discusses the concept of “Failure to rescue” as an indication of the quality of care which also assumes that, while problems may reflect the seriousness a patient’s illness, there are related health care factors which must be considered. The capacity to “rescue” patients once complications occur is closely linked with the quality of health care being provided. This article highlights the concept of failure to rescue with a case paediatric case presentation which underscores the consequences of sub-standard care, and risk incidents which are often associated with “failure to rescue” states. One such “failure to rescue” and hazard concerns non-compliance by HCP when substantiating and documenting equipment checks on “crash carts”. Failure to do so, not only compromises patient safety, but creates conceivable harm for all patients, due to a failure of crash cart preparedness. Crash carts are tools which are utilised for emergency procedures, such as cardiopulmonary arrest and must be checked and prepared in the event of a life-threatening situation. If crash carts are not reliable due to ineffective checks, then failure to rescue will be inevitable. Research into the causes of “failure to rescue “reveals the complexity of the problem, with parallels that reflect insight such as organisational failure, deficiency of knowledge and skills, a deficit of supervision and inadequate staffing levels which together with excessive workloads created time demands for healthcare providers making it problematic to prioritise their responsibilities. However, despite these circumstantial facets, it is the author's opinion, that “failure to rescue” related to false checking and documentation of equipment on “crash carts” by HCP involves a “failure in ethics.” That failure being a deficit in a HCP’s moral duty of care which ensures that patients are safe and protected from harm if emergency care is required. There is a crisis of ethics where theory and practice integrate, and consequently, malfeasance, and we as HCP are forsaking our duty as patient advocates.

Keywords: Case Study; Crash Cart; Ethics; Failure to Rescue; Medical Error; Pr

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Citation

Citation: Manfred Mortell RN. ““Failure to Rescue” Is Your “Crash Cart” Prepared? A Paediatric Case Study?”. Acta Scientific Paediatrics 5.7 (2022): 00-00.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Manfred Mortell RN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.