Ethical Principles in Healthcare - Essay Example

“The principles of emergency management must be a part of the EOP design and include a comprehensive plan for tackling all potential and actual hazards” (Smeltzer et al., 2009, p. 1314).

In light of the Patient’s Bill of Rights proposed by the American Hospital Association, hospitals assume a lot of responsibilities towards the patients that include the patients’ education, and respect along with health.

The patient has the right to make decisions about the plan of care before and during treatment and to refuse a recommended treatment or plan of care to the extent permitted by law and hospital policy and to be informed of the medical consequences of this action (AHA, 1992).

What to talk about asking the patient’s opinion or decision regarding the plan of care the hospital staff had formulated for him, the patient in the video was not even informed of it. By not consulting the patient for his consent upon the treatment and not educating him on the potential consequences of it, the hospital staff violated the principle of healthcare ethics.

Also, the patient can expect that “within its capacity and policies, a hospital will make reasonable response to the request of a patient for appropriate and medically indicated care and services” (AHA, 1992). However, the hospital staff remained indifferent to the reaction of the patient throughout the treatment. Particularly, the patient had been combative upon insertion of the feeding tube, but the hospital staff still never asked the opinion of the patient or his family. “Autonomy refers to the client’s right to make health-care decisions for himself or herself, even if the health-care provider does not agree with those decisions” (Catalano, 2009, p. 130). This definition of autonomy essentially tells that the hospital staff violated this principle by remaining indifferent to the patient’s disagreement over the insertion of the feeding tube. Also, By giving the patient the wrong treatment, the hospital staff violated the ethical principle of nonmaleficence. Finally, the overall treatment did no good to the patient. Thus, it can be said that the hospital staff violated the principle of beneficence.

The case presented in the video is only one of many cases that happen all over the world every day. There is a dire need for public health agencies to take notice of such practices so that the overall health and safety of the community can be ensured.