Medical Errors In Safeguards

Safeguards are in place in all hospitals in the U.S.. Their function is to prevent such medical mistakes. If protocols had been followed, this death most certainly could have been prevented. Standard checklists and protocols should have been in place to alert even inexperienced staff of the complications that can occur postoperatively. “These checklists would include evidence-based risk factors that could lead to adverse events such as sepsis, pneumonia, and bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract” (Henneman et al., 2012, p 14). If these checklists were in place, the nurses should have easily recognized the onset of sepsis and other potential problems that patient might encounter after surgery. The staff obviously failed to check and double check medication orders. Every single staff nurse and resident who attended this patient in the case of Ketorolac administration missed the medication error. These are errors that should never occur because this is standard of care for every person involved in ordering, filling and administering medication to check and double check on their

It is extremely frustrating as a potential nurse knowing that so many medical professionals were responsible in Lewis’s demise. It is deeply troubling to know that each person that cared for Lewis and the team as a whole, failed to advocate for his needs and speak up. The family put their most precious gift, their child, in their hands, but instead of ensuring his safety, they failed across the board. If I take one thing away from the tragedy is to always put the patient first, double-check everything, monitor the patient closely, and be the patient’s strongest advocate. Fatalities like this should never happen, safeguards need to be put in place and adhered to. This should never happen to another child. It is our responsibility to see that every patient, regardless of any factor, receives the best care