PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL ERRORS DISCUSSION 2022

Running head: PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL ERRORS 1
Patient Safety and Medical Errors
Name
Institution

PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL ERRORS 2
Patient Safety and Medical Errors
Introduction
Patient safety is a very important topic that affects all professionals that are involved in the
provision of care. Every healthcare practitioner aims to provide quality care and improve health
outcomes (Longtin et al., 2010). However, in some cases, medical errors occur that lead to
injuries or death in unfortunate circumstances. Medical errors are common in healthcare systems
and they lead to adverse health outcomes. Most of the medical errors experienced by patients in
hospitals are preventable but sometimes negligence makes the prevention of these errors
challenging (Landrigan et al., 2010). It is important to understand what causes medical errors so
that appropriate interventions can be designed to tackle the same.
In this paper, we will describe an incident where a patient died as a result of a medical error by a
nurse. Additionally, the paper will address the role played by the nurse in this incident. The
paper further talks about the consequence of this incident to the nurse and the consumer of care.
The paper finally talks about the actions that a nurse can take to prevent future reoccurrence of
the incident and also gives a reflection of the writer’s thoughts.
Incident Description
We are presented with a case scenario involving Nymphea Anderson who is a 97-year-old
grandmother from Sydney. It is alleged that the woman succumbed to a serious heart attack due
to what is perceived as a medical error. Nancy, the nurse responsible for the care of Mrs.
Anderson is said to have crushed 3 different oral tablets and put them in the patient’s IV-drip at
St. George Hospital. After the intravenous drug administration into her cannula, the patient
started complaining about pain in her arm and wrist. At 10.35pm of the same day, Mrs. Anderson

PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL ERRORS 3
suffered a serious heart attack that led to her death. From the case scenario, we are also informed
the patient had previously been diagnosed with severe heart disease and high blood pressure.
The medication was not supposed to be delivered intravenously and even the nurse
acknowledges that it was not best practice. This was an act of negligence because despite
knowing what was wrong she still proceeded anyway. She did not bother to consult her peers and
seniors before taking this action that potentially led to a loss of life.
Consequences to the Nurse and the Consumers of Care
It is important to note that no nurse comes to work to harm a patient. Mistakes, however, happen
which may lead to serious harm to a patient and sometimes even death. The impact of medical
errors is felt by both the nurse responsible for the error and the consumers of healthcare service
(Sirriyeh et al., 2010). The nurse may emotional distress as a result of their error. As a result,
they develop negative emotions such as sorrow, emotional distress, guilt, and inadequacy among
others ("Medical errors; causes, consequences, emotional response and resulting behavioral
change | Bari | Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences Old Website", 2019). There may also be
financial implications on the nurse responsible for the error when the family of the patient
decides to open a lawsuit against them.
The patient and members of the family may feel devastated when they find out about a medical
error done by a nurse. The devastation is worse than imagined because most of these errors are
preventable ("Impact of Medication Errors on Patients, Healthcare Providers and Hospitals -
Sharps Safety Products for Medical Professionals - Qlicksmart", 2019). The patient may also
experience physical injuries that lead to poor health outcomes. In some instances like in the
provided scenario, the error may lead to a loss of life.