Introduction
Provision of care to patients is one of the principle duties of nurses as established in the professional code of conduct. Nurses and medical practitioners work under difficult circumstances while trying to maintain the safety of the patients. EMS providers take care of clients in circumstances that are ordinarily challenging, yet they are obligated to perform due diligence to avoid harm. While there has been an immense focus on the need to provide safety and avoid harm to patients, there are critical issues that have remained elusive to stakeholders and practitioners alike. One of the key areas that need to be reviewed in so far as EMS is concerned is patient safety in emergency services.
Health care practitioners and nurses are called on a daily basis to attend to patients whose conditions hang in the balance. The cases that are acted upon in every instance are predominantly dangerous, and chances of patient survival are ever slim. After bringing the patients to their areas of jurisdiction, there is always a rush and hurry to offer assistance to the emergency case presented (Bigham et al. 12). However, the circumstances under which the caregivers operate are not well defined to the extent that it is possible to cause harm. Errors of commission or omission are a common phenomenon when attending to emergency patients. There has been a common practice where patients are allowed certain limits of error though such benchmarks have received immense criticisms (Bigham et al. 12). There is a need to consider how patient safety can be enhanced in emergency situations. There are common threats that affect people during treatment, and the gaps need to be addressed to ensure that patient safety is effectively adhered to as appropriate.
The study is aimed at identifying the challenges that jeopardize the safety of patients in emergency situations. The study also aims at coming up with strategies and offering recommendations on how the threats can be mitigated to enhance the safety of the patients. The process of data collection will be done in a systematic manner by reviewing the primary and secondary sources. The data will be drawn from the cumulative index, reviewing of nursing literature and some drafts available on the shelves concerning the issue of concern (Rust 31-34). The investigation of data will be done using certain abstraction tools that are essential for the extraction of critical information.
The results of the study will be shared through publications and posting on the various websites. The essence of sharing the information or data is to ensure that the literature is used in proving the situation for patients in emergency situations. The information will be subject to review occasionally. The data is aimed at provoking the stakeholders to institute actions that can assist in mitigating the challenges of a threat to patients in emergency situations (Rust 31-34). Consequently, the publication of data is aimed at helping caregivers to review their practices and offer the best care to enhance patient safety in different circumstances.
Conclusion
The safety of a patient under any circumstances is paramount and of the essence. Emergency situations present caregivers with challenging issues in so far as the safety of the patients is concerned. The aim of the study is to review the patient safety during an emergency situation and how the threats can appropriately be dealt with as appropriate.
Works Cited
Bigham BL, Maher J, Brooks SC, et al. Patient Safety in Emergency Medical Services: Advancing and Aligning the Culture of Patient Safety in EMS. Edmonton, Canada: Canadian Patient Safety Institute, 2010.
Rust TB, Wagner LM, Hoffman C, and Rowe M, Neumann I. Broadening the patient safety agenda to include safety in long-term care. Health Care Q. 2008; 11(3 Spec No.): 31– 4.
