The implementation of a culture of safety empowers and demands that all employees are engaged, and work in an open environment in which they may speak up without fear of reprisal. It has been recognized that the frontline staff are the employees most likely to recognized the shortcomings in workflow and processes which limit their effectiveness to provide the best care for patients under …show more content…
If centers are successful, the result should be a lower probability of a mistreatment of a patient, and improved morale when staff members feel empowered and find that their voices will be heard. The concern that I have for this issue is the chasm between the presentations made to Congress and printed in response documents, versus the lack of implementation at treatment centers of the principles and standards which those documents suggests are necessary, using strong and unapologetic language. An example was shared with me from this past weekend, in which an on-call therapist responded to the treatment center for an emergency case. Although the standard Monday through Friday is for two therapists to provide treatment per machine, this is not the case during the weekend, at most centers. The cases which receive treatment on Saturday and Sunday are emergent in nature, and often a single therapist provides the treatment, although management often states that there will be two therapists per machine, at least during the work week. It is not hard to imagine the outcome of a court case in which the standard of care is meet during the week, but a lower standard is provided on the weekend, during a more difficult treatment situation, possibly involving a patient whose pain is not controlled, or perhaps a patient suffering partial paralysis due to