Risk assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Risk assessment - Essay Example I had been part of the team presiding over the delivery procedure for a young mother in her late twenties. According to record, the receptionist booked for admission three days earlier to the hospital to have her baby. However, it had latter been identified that she was experiencing false labour pains. The contractions otherwise referred to as Braxton’s Hicks contractions are usually as a result of regular contraction of uterine muscles in readiness for labour (Lisa 2011, p.22). Thus, many people mistake their occurrences to the real labour pains especially towards the closing stages of that pregnancy (Fabre 2008, p. 67). In such a situation, an obstetrics team on duty usually have a superior responsibility of ensuring the wellbeing of both the mother, and that her baby, she is expecting. The medical staff comprising of nurses, obstetric doctor, and physician are all assigned varying duties during delivery procedure, according to their field of specialization. A failure on the part of any of this professional could jeopardise the efforts of every other person in the theatre room, to achieving a successful delivery (Fabre 2008, p. 33). This time she came back with her â€Å"water already broken†; this time to be sure she was ready to have her baby. It had already been determined also, through ultra-sound scan that she was going to have a baby boy. She was anxious and worried, as well. The nurses were going through a hard time calming the woman to ensure a relaxation mood during the birth procedure. This is for regulating her blood pressure (Mary 2008, p.92). An overly excited person can trigger unnecessary muscle contractions and stiffness. At the obstetric department, already the medical test report were out and were showing she had mild backaches and contractions by the time the procedure started, thus the labour pains. This condition is common to confirming onset of giving birth. As much as doctors would wish to maintain a high degree of profess ionalism, we got a report of malpractice case arising in the theatre where a procedure is in progress in helping a patient. The obstetric team comprises not less than five individuals. Unfortunately, the baby ends up developing cerebral palsy. This means that it has developed an extensive brain damage. The reason was as a result of negligence on the part of the physicians. The error occurred during labour as the mother gave birth (Janet 2009, p.65). Normally it is usually a requirement to follow carefully and monitor the baby progress and its status. This is to ensure that the operation patient and the baby in particular do not have any sign of distress. In case of any abnormality, especially in the appropriate air passages, immediate and specific preventative steps are mandatory in an effort to ensure that the baby receive adequate and appropriate supply of oxygen. The mother is usually aware in advance, of the delivery procedure. She gets the information of the entire medical prac titioner attending her and their duties. Doing this enable the doctor to get her consent for the doctor to do his duty (Janet 2009, p.67). However, this failed to happen in the delivery room on that dreaded night. Apparently, the umbilical cord entrapped the baby, making it difficult to receive oxygen. The procedures in the hospital are effective in preventing such cases. The medical staff failed to raise an alarm since the fetal monitoring strips were there to report the distress,