Abuja-based lawyer and Founder of Lawyers Arise for Patients Initiative (LAPI), Ebenezer Egwuatu don yan nurses make dem carry church mind dey do their job of taking good care of patients. Na inside University of Abuja Teaching Hospital he gave dis better talk to more than 100 nurses and some hospital administrators.
Barr. Egwuatu use grammar and listed di roles wey nurses suppose dey play to help save lives. They include following:-
- Respect for Patient’s rights
- Strict compliance with professional Code of Conduct.
- Development of Standard Operating Procedures and strict adherence to institutional policy.
- Establishment of an active and functional PATIENT’S COMPLAINTS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE to genuinely hear the complaints of patients timeously and take necessary action
The lawyer also listed common acts wey mean say nurse no sabi work, a.k.a NURSING NEGLIGENCE. They include but not limited to the following:-
- Medication Error
- Improperly using Medical Instrument/Equipment injury.
- Failure to prevent falls
- Failure to prevent bedsores
- Negligent communication or Communication error.
- Patient’s abuse or neglect.
- Failing to follow Doctor’s instruction.
- Not checking on or caring for the patient regularly.
- Not logging patient’s medication correctly.
- Failing to respond to patient in a timely manner.
- Failing to properly monitor a patient and missing a change in their vital signs.
- Failing to call a Doctor for assurance when needed.
- Failing to update a patient’s chat with any changes in his or her progress.
- Using incorrect abbreviations on a patient’s chat.-Failing to accurately record a patient’s condition in their chat
- Failing to feed a patient.
- Failing to ensure that all medical equipment is working properly.
- Purposely making an error during routine care such as when drawing blood or taking a patient’s blood pressure etc.
