Description 200 wordsThere was an incident reported regarding the standard of care

Description (200 words)There was an incident reported regarding the standard of care in Nightingale nursing home, as one of the staff has mistreated an elderly patient. The victim was a female patient who has been staying in the nursing home for four years. This incident was reported by her son who had secretly placed a hidden camera at the side of his mother’s bed. In the footage, it shows that the staff members left her naked on the chair and seating under a fan which was on high speed. Additionally, the staff did not check the environment and protect the victim’s privacy, by leaving her undress without closing the curtains. The staff then left the patient on the chair for a couple of minutes before transferring her onto the bed. Instead of using the proper techniques to transfer the patient, the staff members threw her onto the bed. afterwards, the staff walked away leaving the patient unattended. Further, in the video, it was shown that the victim was complaining about her pain. Rather than, assisting to the patient’s pain, the staff slapped the victim’s mouth in order to stop her from groaning in pain.Feelings (150 words)After watching the video, I feel very upset as such patients are most vulnerable and what they need is someone to take proper care of them. But through the video, it shows that the staff were ill-treating the patient and did not show any signs of empathy. Additionally, I feel infuriated as the staff’s actions were extremely unacceptable and serious consequences should be given. From the perspective of the victim’s family, I feel very disappointed towards the nursing home. As the family members trusted them to take good care of their loved ones, yet it discovered that she was mistreated. Furthermore, I feel quite worried as this incident can occur to any elderly but due to the lack of care from their family members, this provides a higher probability of them getting injured. Lastly, I feel ashamed because being trained as healthcare professionals, the staff should always respect the patient and protect the victim’s dignity.Evaluation (200 words) Based on this situation, I feel that there is a lack of authority because the patient was being mistreated and no one went to intervene the matter. The patient was left naked and humiliated, with no staff members protecting her dignity and respect. There was no internal control and senior staff members could only take action after the video has shown its transparency of how the staff was being educated, the lack of proper reinforcement and how unafraid they were with regards to the gravity of the situation. Security was also lacing as the case was not reported until there was a hidden camera at the side of the patient’s bed. Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras should have been installed in each ward to keep a look out for the staff member’s actions and how the patients are acting before and after the incident. Although this is a negative experience, it brings benefits to a certain extent. Those victims who are still being abused by staff members can now step up and speak for themselves to gain their own justice. Family members can also start to be more aware when they visit the nursing homes to check whether the patient is in a safe environment.Analysis (250 words)There is a possibility that the staff members of the nursing home hurt the victim due to overwork as they hold huge amounts of responsibility daily. When performing their duty, they have to ensure that all the patients are in a safe environment, attend to all their needs and be constantly focused on their job. Furthermore, they may have to deal with unreasonable demands from the patients’ family members and their supervisor. Therefore, burnouts may be very common, causing them to be impatient and act irresponsibly like venting frustration on the poor victim by giving unacceptable treatments. Alternatively, staff members are prone to be emotionally unstable due to personal issues. Possessing signs of bipolar behavior and frequent mood swings results in lack of control of their emotions and increased annoyance levels. Even the slightest matter will get on their nerves. For example, when a patient cry uncontrollably, the nurse in an attempt to stop it will pinch the patient out of frustration. Hence, when the victim groaned in pain the staff slapped her without hesitation. Under the nursing guidelines, the staff should not have left the patient naked because the victim’s dignity was not being protected. As a healthcare worker, it is their role to respect the patient’s privacy in areas of care. When the patient’s dignity is lost, they may feel unconfident and embarrassed as they are out of their comfort zone. All patients should always be treated equally and no patient should ever have to doubt their own worth.Conclusion (150 words)In conclusion, the way that the staff treated the patient in the nursing home was inappropriate and such incidents should never occur again. I learned that as healthcare workers, we should always uphold our professionalism and maintain public trust. We must act responsibly and take charge of the actions that we make, so that family members would feel relieved sending their loved ones into the nursing homes. We must also learn how to empathize with the patients. Patient’s safety is our top priority and we should not mistreat them by not following the standard protocol. While serving our duty, we should not be affected by our emotions instead, speak to someone if we are facing any difficulties. Luckily, this matter was brought up to the public so that all healthcare institutes can be more aware of their staff’s behavior and there will be serious consequences to staff members that abuse innocent patients.Action plan (250 words)In the future, to prevent this incident from occurring again as a staff member I will conduct impromptu checks within the ward to check on the patient’s conditions at unexpected timings. This is so that I can keep track of how the other staff is treating the patients and if the standard of care is being maintained. When conducting the checks, I should check the amount of workload given to each staff and interact with the patients and staff, to ensure that the patients are safe. Through these conversations, I can get to know the staff members better and create a happier working environment for everyone. In addition, staff members should undergo yearly training on how to handle patients professionally, to prevent the staff from forgetting or misusing their authority to treat patients. By organizing a yearly re-training program on the new updates of the management and rules to abide by the staff members when handing with patients. Furthermore, I can request for more personal healthcare assistance to help out with the activities of daily living of the patients. This will lessen the amount of work needed to be done by the staff and they will not feel overwhelmed and stressed up. Lastly, have semi-annual meetings for patients and families to update about the situation of their loved ones and any comments to improve in the environment. Another meeting can also be held with the staff members to find out how they are coping and what are the problems they are facing.