Question

33. Refer to the Case study below to answer the following: Explain two possible consequences and/or penalties for Jeremiah for not complying with his legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace for Sonia.

Case study

Jeremiah is a qualified mental health nurse from the United Kingdom and has recently moved to Melbourne, Australia, to begin his new role as regional mental health nursing manager for a not-for-profit organisation. Jeremiah has been provided with a comprehensive role and responsibilities statement and completed an internal induction program. He is concerned, however, that the compliance requirements he followed in the UK are different from the requirements outlined in Australian legislation and he is not familiar with some of the terminology. During Jeremiah’s first week on the job he is required to respond to a critical incident where a service user physically harassed and assaulted Sonia, a support worker employed by Jeremiah, during a home visit. Jeremiah must respond to the critical incident immediately.

Answer 1

Some of the consequences which Jeremiah can face are

• An issue of an memo by the administration for not overseeing the safety measures for the staff
• An disciplinary action can be taken on the nurse manager.This analyses the actual reasons for the happening and what preventive measures ,protocols formulated by the nurse manager for a safe environment
• Termination is possible in case of an untoward events occurring to the staff in workplace and leading to permanent damage to physical or mental health.