I work at a children’s hospital as a contract employee, but I access medical records and contact patients/families. I noticed a patient today with absolutely horrifying signs of abuse that no one else seemed to report. I was a kid that should’ve had multiple hotlines places and no one did. So, I asked a senior nurse if it seemed concerning. They said yes.
I followed up with the nurse who saw them that day, the nurse running the department, etc. who all said I should call. I decided I’d call to report by offering the objective info available in the charts and that way, if it was a concern, they could move forward and I’d work with my company for next steps. If it wasn’t, it’d be the end of that but at least I reported it and didn’t raise unnecessary concern to my manager and boss. I didn’t want anyone crying over spilled milk before the milk even spilled.
My boss has told me I could’ve ruined the relationship with the hospital I work at, that I could be damaging our company as a whole, that I could be the cause of the hospital being charged with negligence for not reporting themselves. They said i was right to report it, but it was wrong for me to do the way I did and I could’ve damaged us immensely.
Fuck the child who needs help, right? Gotta preserve that contract. I’ve been a crying mess.