Malpractices in the Patient Safety Suffered from Hand Trauma: An Ethical Case Report

Endangering patient safety by delaying the care provided by members of the treatment team can cause irrecoverable harm to the patient. In this study, a case has been presented with the ethical challenge of delay in patient care.

The patient was a middle-aged man suffering from Penetrating trauma to the nerve and tendon of the fingers hand with extensive bleeding by electric milling. He referred to the emergency department. The only Services performed for him included; wound dressing, without inject tetanus vaccine and antibiotics and providing necessary training. The client was referred personally to a hospital in Tehran after 24 hours. Eventually, the patient underwent surgery after 42 hours of fasting due to overcrowding of patients. As a result, the patient involved in complications due to delayed nerve and tendon surgery.

In this report, patient safety was compromised with delay in treatment. This risk was due to the lack on time visits by specialist physicians, delayed surgical complications and prolonged fasting, failure to comply with physician orders (antibiotics and tetanus vaccine) despite payment by the patient, lack of transfer information and training Sufficient to support the patient in making a personal decision to leave the hospital.

Failure to maintain patient safety has irrecoverable consequences for patients and the service delivery system. As a result, the solution is to nurse managers; planning in-service education to the staff for increase professional knowledge, commitment, responsibility, accountability, ethical sensitivity and recognition of ethical challenges to prevent delays in patient treatment.