Critical Evaluation of Complaint Management and its Impact on Patient Care and Health Service Delivery

Discussion Hygiene is of great importance when it comes to the healthcare sector, especially when it comes to practitioners who interact with patients on a daily basis. Prior to their interaction with a patient, health care practitioners are expected to clean their hands and make sure that they are hygienically safe as there are a number of infections that can be transmitted through unhygienic interactions (Currie and Suhomlinova, 2006). This scenario applies in almost every instance, with the inclusion of the ultrasound department. Even though the practitioners wear gloves, they are still required to clean their hands for ethical and hygiene reasons. Therefore, to evaluate the case of the patient, the one that reported the probable ethical and hygiene violation it is essential to understand the scenario from the scientific and ethic perspective.

The practitioner that conducted the ultrasound on the patient has been reported for not observing the required hygiene standards and procedures after he used the ultrasound without cleaning his hands. Prior to the sonography, the patient was asked for her consent to proceed on with the process and gave her consent which is in accordance to the legal aspect of the country where a patient has to give their consent for any medical procedure, and in the event that they are in no condition to give the consent due to mental or physical conditions, then their next of keen is expected to make the decision for them (Mockford et al. Therefore, up to this point, the practitioner and the organization had abided by the legal and ethical required terms.

However, the issue came when the sonographer conducted the procedure without carrying out the required hygiene standards despite him wearing the gloves. When it comes to the legal part of the case, where the department has not been able to verify whether the information that was given in the complaint is entirely true or not, there are a number of approaches that can be evaluated or not. As such, looking into the claims that were presented to the PALS would be the most effective approach as the facility also legally obligated to do so and in the event that the practitioner is found guilty or performed the sonography without cleaning his hands, then he should be liable to any punishment that may be accorded to him.

In conclusion, cases such as this impact the viewpoint of the patients as far as the use of the ultrasound and other devices are concerned. They will impact the patient care, and health service delivery since after the patient reported to PALS, the facility was also obliged to make certain that the practitioners had to clean their hands in front of their patients to ascertain that they indeed follow the hygiene requirements that are required. In addition, asking for the consent of the patient before having to perform an ultrasound or any other procedure within the hospital is also expected since it is the legal requirement based on the UK NHS and breaking this, or performing an ultrasound or even an operation on a patient without their consent would be breaking any legal claim that is present and this may be taken as a violation of the clients trust and privacy and there can be increased consequences for the practitioner and the facility in general.

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