Mediation and mitigation: moving forward

Recently, I became aware of an argument over a personal matter among a group of my nursing colleagues, which has now spiralled spectacularly downwards into what has become a professional matter. Inevitably, this ended negatively, with some longstanding relationships shattered, and with no signs of resolution in sight.

For those who are spouses and parents, disagreements are familiar and allow many to become fairly adept and skilled at resolving them.

However, who would ever want to admit to arguing with a patient? Yet, we know that it happens, and the disputed matter has probably spiralled out of control before one has even recognised that the argument has escalated into a grievance, then moved up to a complaint, followed by the all too inevitable threat of legal action, at which point, we usually stop and seek intervention. By the time that insurers and lawyers get involved, the parties are often entrenched with well-established and deep-seated views on the matter, with neither party seeking mitigation.