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Reviews
ER: Insurrection (2002)
Workplace Safety Vs Patient Care
"Ten bucks an hour is not going to keep any half decent guys here," the security boss responds to Dr. Lewis after she complains they aren't there when she needs them.
Carter is furious that a gun-wielding junkie makes his way into the E. R. and threatens Chen. He stages a walkout, putting him against Weaver in a battle of the budget.
The episode is good but not excellent, but brings up a real issue of workplace safety vs patient care. Carter's point being ultimately, is it worth risking your own life everyday to save others? He and many other E. R. staff know that the job is hard enough without the threat of injury or death.
I, for one, would not accept working in an unsafe environment, especially when the funds exist. Weaver's red tape and board meetings feel like a flimsy excuses and Carter is an unlikely choice to represent the proletariat, but overall I liked the way the episode resolved the issue.
Thinking on it now, forcing Carter to choose how to deal with the budget limitations is deliciously sardonic knowing he's the richest of all the hospital staff. Theoretically, if his family paid more taxes, then the county hospital would have more funds for security.