A Lack Of Planning And Protocol Failures In Healthcare Are Not Limited To Ebola

With the two nurses now contracting Ebola at Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, there are many lined up to criticize the CDC and their lack of planning, communication, and preparation for Ebola cases. Many are criticizing THR Presbyterian Hospital for their lack of protocols and for not having the right protective gear available for nurses and other caregivers.

I've been critical of both organizations on my blog and on Twitter and I think the organizations deserve the criticism. They are both reflecting on mistakes and say they are making changes to their approaches. Better late than never. I guess.

In these failures, we shouldn't blame individuals. The National Nurses Union rightfully points out (as I did) that the nurse who contracted Ebola shouldn't be blamed for "protocol breaches." As with many healthcare errors and problems, the issue is usually bad systems and bad processes, not individuals or so-called "bad apples." The problem is not a lack of caring or a lack of effort from healthcare professionals...