Refusal of Service by Healthcare Worker-Free-Samples for Student

Question: Discuss about the Refusal of Service by healthcare worker. Answer: Introduction Healthcare is one of the primary concerns of government agencies in the modern era. The inclination towards welfare economics adopted by states has various implications, proper healthcare for all citizens and immigrants being of paramount importance. In light of these circumstances refusal of care to an ailing patient is immensely unethical and cannot be condoned. Discussion The case of Mr. Albert Thompson is quintessentially an incident that brings to light such unethical practices. Due to the introduction of an upfront payment system, Mr. Thompson was denied treatment till he made an upfront payment in November 2017. This was a NHS policy aimed at immigrants who were not ordinarily a resident of the UK. The NHS is a government agency and guides and regulates the health services in the UK. Mr. Thompson had moved to the UK over 40 years ago and was still treated with the status of an immigrant. Moreover, denying healthcare to cancer patients, even if they are immigrants, portrays a profit oriented image of the healthcare system which should not be the case for such an essential service (Worthing, 2018). The NHS has a constitution that prescribes its obligations and duties and the rights of patients in a codified form. However, the provisions of the NHS constitution are mainly related to treatment of citizens of the UK. Further, it provides for refusal of treatment to foreign nationals. Thus, the constitution itself stands at an unethical standpoint. Common law principles dictate that right to life is supreme and cannot be superseded by statutory enactments (Carter et al., 2013). In light of this the refusal faced by Mr. Thompson, though with statutory backing, represents the unethical standards to which immigrants in the UK are subject to and the differential treatment faced by them in the land of the Magna Carta. Conclusion The NHS constitution defines various rights of patients including the right to file complaints and legally pursue medical negligence. However the same text restricts rights of patients who are foreign nationals. This displays a discriminatory approach to treatment of foreign nationals which could lead to life threatening situations. Reference list: Carter, M., Thompson, N., Crampton, P., Morrow, G., Burford, B., Gray, C., Illing, J. (2013). Workplace bullying in the UK NHS: a questionnaire and interview study on prevalence, impact and barriers to reporting.BMJ open,3(6), e002628. Worthing, K. (2018).As a doctor, I can see that denying NHS care to immigrants is inhumane | Kitty Worthing.the Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/doctor-nhs-care-government-albert-thompson