Unethical Business Operations in Gosport War Memorial Hospital

The paper examines the case of the unprincipled business operations in the Gosport War Memorial Hospital. The paper measures the case through focusing on the suitability of the application of the medicine and drugs. Along with that, the paper evaluates the influence of the ethics in the successful business procedures of the medical organizations and in addition to this, it also estimates the consequence of the unethical business processes on the demise of the organizations operating in the medical industry.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary:
The paper examines the case of the unprincipled business operations in the Gosport War
Memorial Hospital. The paper measures the case through focusing on the suitability of the
application of the medicine and drugs. Along with that, the paper evaluates the influence of
the ethics in the successful business procedures of the medical organizations and in addition
to this, it also estimates the consequence of the unethical business processes on the demise of
the organizations operating in the medical industry. The paper is able to put strong emphasis
on the aspects such as the , managerial board of the organization, customers, managers and
the public relations of the organizations, business regulators and the industry in which the
company is currently operating. Apart from this, the paper also offers some of the vital
recommendations for the efficient management of the situation in the organization with a
detailed focus on the managers, patients of the organization and the media coverage.

2MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Overview:...................................................................................................................................4
Case Evaluation:.........................................................................................................................4
Managers, Nurses and the medical associates:......................................................................4
Media coverage and other stakeholders:................................................................................6
Recommendations:.....................................................................................................................7
Managers:...............................................................................................................................7
Patients:..................................................................................................................................8
Media Coverage:....................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10
Bibliography:............................................................................................................................12

3MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
The practice of ethics in the modern business world is one of the important aspect of
the sustainable business and that is pretty evident with the increasing urgency amongst the
modern business organizations in incorporating the ethics in their business operations. The
conceptual definition of ethics defines it as the basic concepts and ideologies of the decent
human operations (Percival 2014). The incorporation of the ethical practice focuses on the
values and the essential quality of the individuals, human rights, health and safety and
legislations of the land. The medical and the healthcare industry is observed to be affected
with the practice of ethics in a significant manner. Dunn and Hope (2018) highlighted that the
medical or the healthcare industry, being one of the service oriented industry, is more
influenced with the word of mouth communication of the customers. The reputation of the
organizations serving in the industry is one of their crucial unique selling proposition and is
largely considered as the most preferred completive advantage in comparison to the other
organizations. Hence as the reputation of the organizations, serving in the industry, is a
crucial aspect of their business, the significance of the ethics in the organizations is pretty
prominent.
The paper analyses the case of the unethical business conduction in the Gosport War
Memorial Hospital. The paper evaluates the case with a precise focus on the appropriateness
of the application of the medicine and drugs. Along with that, the paper assess the impact of
the ethics in the successful business operations of the medical organizations and in addition to
this, it also evaluates the effect of the unethical business operations on the demise of the
organizations operating in the medical industry. In conducting the assessment of the
condition and the practices of the organization, the paper is able to put strong emphasis on the
factors such as the managers, managerial board of the organization, customers and the public

4MANAGEMENT
relations of the organizations, business regulators and the industry in which the company is
currently operating. Apart from this, the paper also provides some of the crucial
recommendations for the effective management of the situation in the organization with a
precise focus on the managers, patients of the organization and the media coverage.
Overview:
The mentioned organization has significant amount of history and pride associated
with it as the selected organization was framed in the memory of the fighters of the
Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marine Light Infantry who lost their life during the First World
War (Southernhealth.nhs.uk. 2019). The mentioned organization is a renowned name in the
British health care industry due to their service. Gosport War Memorial Hospital was opened in
the year 1923 in the Gosport region of Hampshire (Southernhealth.nhs.uk. 2019). The
selected organization was affiliated with Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and later in
the year 1948, it was included in the National Health Service (Nhs.uk. 2019). The inclusion of
the mentioned hospital in the National Health Service enabled the organization to undergo a
significant amount of infrastructural development staring from the maternity ward, the x-ray
facilities, physical medicine to the emergency departments (Nhs.uk. 2019).
Case Evaluation:
Managers, Nurses and the medical associates:
The selected case is one of the prime example of the detrimental impact of the medical
negligence and the unethical business operations from the part of the organizations serving in the
healthcare industry. The selected organization experienced a fatal incident in the year 1990,
where considerable number of patients were injected opioid drugs without any sort of prescription
or evaluation of the medical conditions of the patients. Almost 456 numbers of patients died
along with 200 number of patients losing their actual span of life, the case was pretty significant

5MANAGEMENT
in stating the impact of the medical negligence on the life of the members of the patient’s and the
survivors (Gmc-uk.org. 2019). Diamorphine, one of the prime life shortening drugs in the
medical industry, has significant impact on the health of the people and requires to be injected
only if it is prescribed to the patient after conducting the necessary tests (Psnet.ahrq.gov. 2019).
However, a clinical assistant of the mentioned organization in the form of Jane Barton was
accused of regularly overprescribing the opioid drugs for the patients of the mentioned hospital
nad that led to the death of 456 number of patients along with the shortening of the life span of
more than 200 number of patients of the mentioned hospital (Bihr.org.uk 2019). Till this part, the
case was more related to the medical negligence, however the actions that happened from the part
of the management of the mentioned hospital after the occurrence of the case is a classic example
of the unethical practice from the part of the hospital management.
Dr. Jane Barton was not a newcomer in the organization and had the expertise of
operating in the organization for 12 long years. There were considerable number of medical
associates and nurses who actually had the idea of the misdeeds however, they were threaten to
keep silent from the part of the management of the organization as that had the potential to
provide significant amount of reputational damage to the selected organization. The pharmacists
and the senior nurses of the selected organization had the expertise of administering the drugs of
the high intensity level and that enabled them to gain the idea of the suitable timing for the
application of the high intensity drug such as opioid drug. However, as mentioned the employees
were threatened for not highlighting the unfitting usage of the diamorphine to the patients who
were not suitable for the application of the drugs, none of the nurses or the pharmacists have
reported the case to the convenor of Royal College of Nursing who attended the staff meeting in
the year 1991 (Rcn.org.uk 2019). The whistle blowing was effectively stopped by the
management of the selected organization, however, the fight of the families of the patients who
died in the incident and were affected with the impact of the incident, were able to prove the case
of the medical negligence in front of customers of the society in the year 2009 (Boseley 2019).

6MANAGEMENT
As a result, in the year 2009, Jane Barton was positioned for a hearing in front of the
disciplinary tribunal that was designed by the management of the mentioned organization for the
investigation of the case as the issue was significantly decreasing the reputation of the selected
organization (Boseley 2019). The disciplinary tribunal which was actually a doctor’s regulatory
authority of the mentioned organization was seen to pose strict restrictions on the operations of
the accused doctor, however later, the governing body of the mentioned organization was
observed to accept the continuation of the Barton’s operations as improper or ineffective
judgement from the part of the tribunal (Psnet.ahrq.gov. 2019). The tribunal conducted an in
depth analysis of the case and while conducting the assessment, the collected medical reports
from the mentioned organization clearly portrayed the fact that the application of the drugs did
not have any sort strong justification and was injected on the basis of the anticipatory prescribing.
From the comments of one of the senior nurse of the mentioned hospital, Pauline Spilka to the
Hampshire Police in the year 2001, it was pretty clear that the injection of the mentioned drug did
not have any sort of viable base and in majority of the cases, the anticipatory prescribing was
carried out even before the patients are admitted for the end-of-life-care (Boseley 2019). Hence
it is pretty evident that the claim of the doctor and the nurses associated with it, of the
criticalness of the patients’ health being the reason of the injection of the drugs was baseless.
Media coverage and other stakeholders:
The case provided a major setback to the mentioned organization in the form of the
reputational damage and that affected the business operations of the selected organization
The initiation of the investigation with the formation of the tribunal was an evidence of the
concern of the board members of the mentioned organization regarding the reputation of the
selected organization amongst the customers. On the other hand, the managers of the
organization were responsible for not allowing the senior nurses blow the whistle which had
the potential to minimize the impact of the case and the casualty as well. The families of the

7MANAGEMENT
patients who died or were affected in the case, had to suffer a lot as neither the police or the
relevant authorities were ready to accept or believe the fact. However, later with the apology
of the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on behalf of the government and NHS, was pretty
significant in not only initiating the next part of the fight which was the criminal prosecutions
against the medical associates but also in highlighting the mentioned organization for their
medical negligence and unethical business operations (Gmc-uk.org. 2019).
Considering the impact of the ethical practice over the operations of the medical
industry, it is pretty evident that the case provided significant amount of reputational crisis to
the mentioned organization and that affected their business. However, the incorporation of
the ethics from the part of the management of the mentioned organization had the potential to
limit the detrimental impact of the case (Herring 2014). The effect of the case was pretty
prominent not only for the fact that the case affected the goodwill of the company amongst
the customers or it affected the sales of the organization, but also the case increased the
intensity of monitoring of the regulatory authorities on the application of the relevant
legislations from the part of the mentioned organization (Doukas et al. 2013). The case was
heavily highlighted in various form of media, including both offline and online platforms.
Along with that, various eminent newspapers such as The Guardian and major regulatory
authorities such as The British Institute of Human Rights, United States Department of
Health and Human Services and General Medical Council of United Kingdom heavily
portrayed the case through their official online platforms for providing an example of the
impact of the unethical practice in the health care industry (Bihr.org.uk 2019). This affected
he reputation of the organization in a significant manner.

8MANAGEMENT
Recommendations:
Managers:
The managers of the organization did not the mistake in not initiating the internal inquiry
on urgent basis. As the senior nurses and some of the pharmacists had the idea of the misdeed and
were ready to speak about it, the managers of the organization were observed to threaten them for
maintaining the silence. The spread of the news had the potential to create a momentary chaos in
the operations and reputation of the organization, however, the timely intervention from the part
of managers could have made sure the intensity and the impact of the incident get reduced. As
they remained silent for so long, the organization were not only seen to face the reputational
damage but also it has the possibility of initiating strict investigations on the responsibility and
the operations of the manages of the organization. Hence the managers are expected to make sure
that they initiate the internal investigation with utmost urgency and prepare safe and secure
legislation for the protection of the whistle blowers.
Patients:
There is little that the patients of the organization can, to improve the reputation of the
organization. However, the improved and ethical business conduction from the part of the
management which may include some faulty operations here and there along with proactive and
urgent intervention from the part of the managers of the organization to resolve them, will
certainly trigger the customer satisfaction and the word of mouth communication from the part of
the customers or the patients of the organization.
Media Coverage:
The organization needs to come up with the list of activities that they have undertaken to
resolve the issue and the activities that will certainly make sure that they treat these sorts of cases
with a better approach in near future and the organization needs initiate integrated marketing
communication to make sure that the customers have the idea of these activities. The IMC plan

9MANAGEMENT
needs to be conducted through the online and offline media outlets and will have the potential to
improve the reputation of the organization.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it is pretty evident that the importance of the ethics in the
modern healthcare industry is pretty high and along with that, the reputation matters for the
customers in case of choosing a healthcare provider. With the mentioned case, the impact of
medical negligence and the unethical business practice is pretty evident on the reputation of
the organization and their service. The hospital is severely affected with the undue
application of the opioid drugs which was in need to be managed with a better approach from
the part of the managers of the organization. The reputational crisis that the mentioned
organization faced is in need to be managed with the initiation of the initiation of the
integrated marketing communication.

10MANAGEMENT
References:
Bihr.org.uk 2019. British Institute of Human Rights. Findings of the review into deaths at
Gosport War Memorial Hospital raise concerns about the protection of older people's human
rights. [online] Available at: https://www.bihr.org.uk/blog/older-peoples-deaths-in-gosport-
hospital-human-rights-accountability
Boseley, S. 2019. Gosport hospital: more than 450 patients died due to opioid drugs policy.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/20/gosport-war-memorial-hospital-opioid-
drugs-policy-inquiry
Doukas, D.J., McCullough, L.B., Wear, S., Lehmann, L.S., Nixon, L.L., Carrese, J.A.,
Shapiro, J.F., Green, M.J. and Kirch, D.G., 2013. The challenge of promoting
professionalism through medical ethics and humanities education. Academic Medicine,
88(11), pp.1624-1629.
Dunn, M. and Hope, T., 2018. Medical ethics: a very short introduction. Oxford University
Press.
Gmc-uk.org. 2019. [online] Available at:
https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/gosport-war-memorial-hospital-report-
gmcresponse_pdf-76338897.pdf
Herring, J., 2014. Medical law and ethics. Oxford University Press, USA.
Nhs.uk. 2019. Home. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/
Percival, T., 2014. Medical ethics. Cambridge University Press.

11MANAGEMENT
Psnet.ahrq.gov. 2019. Gosport War Memorial Hospital. The Report of the Gosport
Independent Panel. | AHRQ Patient Safety Network. [online] Available at:
https://psnet.ahrq.gov/resources/resource/32580/Gosport-War-Memorial-Hospital-The-
Report-of-the-Gosport-Independent-Panel
Rcn.org.uk 2019. The Royal College of Nursing. RCN - Home | Royal College of Nursing.
[online] Available at: https://www.rcn.org.uk/
Southernhealth.nhs.uk. 2019. Care to join us | your career starts here. [online] Available at:
https://www.southernhealth.nhs.uk/about/work-for-us/

12MANAGEMENT
Bibliography:
Bonney, W., 2014. Medical errors: Moral and ethical considerations. Journal of Hospital
Administration, 3(2), pp.80-88.
Rudd, R.A., Aleshire, N., Zibbell, J.E. and Matthew Gladden, R., 2016. Increases in drug and
opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2000–2014. American Journal of Transplantation,
16(4), pp.1323-1327.