Implications of Whistleblowing for Accountability, and Raising and Escalating Concerns - Essay Example

?Topic: Discuss critically the implications of Whistleblowing for Accountability, and Raising and Escalating Concerns. Course Date Healthcare centers are places all of us visit or are bound to visit in the near future. This is mainly because people face a number of health issues during their lifetime (Arszulowicz & Gasparski, 2011, p. 122). Medical professionals and hospital attendants have so much in their hands that they may at times neglect some of their duties. Some do this unintentionally will others neglect their duties and responsibilities out of ignorance. Recent research studies conducted in the US panorama showed that disabled patients were the most neglected and less attended (Boatright, 2009, p. 110). The secret filming agency also revealed that disabled patients were exposed to a lot of mental and physical torture. This is attributed to the fact that they are in most cases ignored or mistreated when they attend healthcare centers (Jeffrey, 2009, p. 24). Whistle blowing is not easy task as many would think because it puts ones career and reputation on the line. Whistle blowers who advocate for better medical care for patients who have demanding needs are in most cases scared of the attitudes their colleagues. In most cases, their colleagues are not in support of their actions (Killion & Dempski, 2006, p. 122). Alerting the society about the needs of patients is crucial and very important. However, this has to be done with extreme care so as to avoid raising false alarms. There should be careful analysis of situations in order to get comprehensive information about the situation. This helps in making sure that the raised concerns are adequately and appropriately addressed. Health care workers and practitioners are not regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (Lewis, 2001, p. 299). The organization however does its best to ensure that it passes the right information relating to how patients can be handled in a careful and respectful manner. Nurses are well trained on matters relating to duty and are encouraged to put first the interests and concerns of patients. They are also supposed to ensure that patients are adequately protected from all manner of risks (Lippincott & Wilkins, 2002, p. 110). The Nursing and Midwifery Council has produced various publications that offer guidance to health practitioners regarding their roles and duties. For instance, in their publication, ‘Raising and escalating concerns’ they gave a number of tips on how healthcare practitioners can improve their service delivery. They noted that healthcare practitioners have the duty of acting responsibly should they feel that a colleague may be putting a patient's life at risk in the course of delivering medication (Vandekerckhove, 2006, p. 255). Practitioners have also been empowered to seek assistance from respective authorities should there be a problem that could hinder effective service delivery. The hospitals environments are supposed to avail maximum comfort to the sick ill and also be able to assure them of an improvement in their health (White, 2005, p. 100). Governments in developed countries have laws that protect whistle blowers. A perfect example is the enactment of the interest disclosure act of nineteen ninety-eight (Lewis, 2001, p. 300). The law was put in place to protect workers from victimization once they air out issues concerning professional malpractices. The act covers workers who expose genuine concerns regarding their employers or colleagues (Vandekerckhove, 2006, p. 221). Appropriate procedures must be observed when raising concerns about specific issues. Firstly, the issues being raised should be valid and lawful. They should be raised for public interest rather than personal interests (Lippincott & Wilkins, 2002, p. 129). Once issues are raised, relevant authorities make a follow up to ensure that there is fairness and transparency in addressing the raised concerns (Boatright, 2009, p. 99). Service delivery in a public institution should always reflect accountability. Accountability and transparency are highly regarded as ethical practices that are used in achieving effectiveness in service delivery (Jeffrey, 2009, p. 50). The two are the guiding standards that provide ethical requirements for an organization. Whistle blowing has numerous benefits in terms of accountability and voicing of concerns. For instance, it promotes good governance and encourages people to observe key ethical issues in organizations (Killion & Dempski, 2006, p. 133). Whistle blowing ensures that the violation of ethics and the law are reported to relevant authorities in time for faster corrective actions. This ensures that an organization is protected from being exposed to risk. An organization has a collective responsibility of ensuring that employees are aware of the serious commitment of the management to the adherence to codes of conduct (Boatright, 2009, p. 155). There are a number of challenges facing the practice of whistle blowing. For instance, mistrust within an organization may hinder employees from raising concerns about certain issues. Employees may fear being alienated or retaliated by their colleagues or employers. Individuals wishing to raise concerns will only be comfortable if they are well assured that the culture, practices and laws protect them from any form of victimization (Arszulowicz & Gasparski, 2011, p. 100). However, it is also important to impose heavy penalties on individuals who raise false alarms so as to discourage such practices (Jeffrey, 2009, p. 77). Despite the possibilities of false alarms, whistle blowing is helpful in enhancing service delivery. For example, in a hospital setting it makes sure that all patients are availed maximum care with the needy cases first receiving attention (Arszulowicz & Gasparski, 2011, p. 44). Enhanced service delivery by a firm improves its reputation and image. Hospitals receive patients based on their service delivery strategies (Boatright, 2009, p. 200). Patients will go where they are assured of quality care and attention irrespective of their social status. A whistle blowing culture eliminates secrecy and employees work in good faith knowing that they could be reported anytime (Lippincott & Wilkins, 2002, p. 120). It deters varying forms of wrongdoing and promotes good governance and transparency (Lewis, 2001, p. 200). It also maintains public confidence and encourages organizational accountability. Whistle blowers hold the patients best interest regardless of what the hospital stands for (Killion & Dempski, 2006, p. 129). They are encouraged as they work on issues that the public or patients may not be aware of. They uphold the law in hospital settings by exposing truths and facts (Arszulowicz & Gasparski, 2011, p. 177). References Arszulowicz, M. and Gasparski, W., 2011, Whistleblowing: in defense of proper action. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Boatright, J. R., 2009, Ethics and the conduct of business, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Jeffrey, C., 2009, Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, New York: Emerald Group Pub Ltd. Killion, S. W. and Dempski, K., 2006, Legal and ethical issues, Sudbury: Mass, Jones and Bartlett. Lewis, D., 2001, Whistleblowing at work, London: Athlone. Lippincott, W. and Wilkins., 2002, Illustrated manual of nursing practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Vandekerckhove, W., 2006, Whistleblowing and organizational social responsibility: a global assessment, Aldershot: Ashgate. White, L., 2005, Foundations of nursing, Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning. Read More