The development and function of Clinical Ethics Committees (CECs) in the United Kingdom

Article Sidebar

PDF PDF (angielski)
Opublikowane: 2009-12-01
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.22.2009.362

Main Article Content

Vic Larcher

Abstrakt

In the UK an increasing number of Clinical Ethics Committees (CECs) have been developed mainly in response to local need and interest. Their functions include education of health professionals, of policy and guideline development, and case review (both retrospective analysis of topics and advice on acute cases). The UK Clinical Ethics Network, a charitable foundation provides CEC s with help, support and advice and enables them to share their experience The legal status of UK CECs is unclear but some legal commentators have suggested that CECs lack competencies and procedural rules necessary for acute case review. The UKCEN has proposed core competencies for CECs that lists the ethical, operational and procedural skills, knowledge and personal attributes required and how they may be acquired, assessed and maintained. Their implementation might lead to the development of ethical and legal governance which should benefit to future patient care.

Article Details

Numer

Nr 22 (2009)

Dział

Temat specjalny – Szpitalne komisje etyczne

Teksty zaproponowane do naszego czasopisma nie powinny być nigdzie publikowane przed ukazaniem się w „Diametros”. Wraz z przesłaniem swojego utworu redakcji autor akceptuje, że w momencie zakwalifikowania tekstu do publikacji czasopismo „Diametros” będzie stosowało licencję the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Na podstawie tej licencji autorzy zgadzają się, że ich prace mogą być zgodnie z prawem ponownie wykorzystywane do jakichkolwiek celów bez konieczności uzyskania uprzedniej zgody ze strony autora lub wydawcy. Każdy może prace te czytać, pobierać, kopiować, drukować, rozpowszechniać oraz przetwarzać, pod warunkiem poprawnego oznaczenia autorstwa oraz oryginalnego miejsca publikacji. Autorzy zachowują prawa autorskie do swoich utworów bez żadnych innych ograniczeń. Pełna informacja na temat licencji CC BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Biogram autora

Vic Larcher

Vic Larcher, dr
MB, BChir, MA, FRCPCH
Consultant in Paediatrics and Clinical Ethics
Great Ormond Street Hospital
London
United Kingdom

Dr Vic Larcher completed his medical training at Cambridge University and St Bartholomew's Hospital London. He held training posts in both general and specialist paediatrics before his appointment as a consultant to the former Hospitals for Sick Children group. He completed an MA in Medical Law and Ethics and was a member of the Working Party which led to the establishment of the GOSH Clinical Ethics Committee. He is currently the Chair of both the GOSH Clinical tics Committee and of the Ethics Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the UK Clinical Ethics Network. His current post at GOSH, combining Clinical Ethics, General and Specialist Paediatrics (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME, child protection) is unique in the UK.

The views expressed in this article are his own.

Jak cytować

„The Development and Function of Clinical Ethics Committees (CECs) in the United Kingdom”. 2009. Diametros, nr 22 (grudzień): 47-63. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.22.2009.362.

Bibliografia

Aulisio et al. [2000] – M.P. Aulisio, R.M. Arnold, S.J. Youngner, Health care ethics consulta- tion: nature, goals, and competencies. A position paper from the Society for Health and Human Values-Society for Bioethics Consultation Task Force on Standards for Bioethics Consultation, “Annals of Internal Medicine” 133 (1) 2000: 59-69.

Brierley, Larcher [2009] – J. Brierley, V. Larcher, Compassionate and innovative treatments in children: A proposal for an ethical framework, “Archives of Disease Childhood”. Pub- lished Online First: 19 May 2009, doi:10.1136/adc.2008.155317.

Campbell [2001] – A.V. Campbell, Clinical governance – watchword or buzzword?, “Journal Medical Ethics” 27, 2001 (suppl 1): 854-856.

Ethics in Practice [2005] – Ethics in Practice. Background and recommendations for enhanced support, “Royal College of Physicians” London, June 2005. www.rcplondon.ac.uk

Gillon [1997] – R. Gillon, Clinical Ethics Committees: pros and cons, “Journal of Medical Eth- ics” 23, 1997: 203-204.

Hendrick [2001] – J. Hendrick, Legal aspects of clinical ethics committees, “Journal of Medical Ethics” 27, 2001 (suppl. 1): i50-i53.

JCAHO [1996] – Joint Commission for Accreditation of Health Care Organisations, “Comprehensive Manual for Hospitals”, Chicago, 1996: 95-97.

Larcher [1999] – V.F. Larcher, The Role of Clinical Ethics Committees in Paediatric Practice, “Archives of Disease Childhood” 81, 1999: 104-106.

Larcher et al [1997] – V.F. Larcher, B. Lask, J.M. McCarthy, Paediatrics at the cutting edge do we need clinical ethics committees?, “Journal of Medical Ethics” 23, 1997: 245-247.

Larcher et al. [2009] – V. Larcher, A. Slowther, A. Watson, Core competencies for Clinical Ethics Committees, Clinical Medicine 2009. In press.

Larcher, Mulvaney [2007] – V. Larcher, R. Mulvaney, Can provision of clinical ethics support be justified? A year’s experience at a children’s hospital, “Archives of Disease Child- hood” 92, 2007 (suppl. 1): A36.

McLean [2007] – S.A.M. McLean, Who and what are clinical ethics committees for?, “Journal of Medical Ethics” 33, 2007: 497-500.

RCPCH [1997, 2004] – Withholding or Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment in Children A framework for practice, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, London 1997, 2004.

Re Quinlan [1976] – In Re Quinlan, NJ 1976, 355 A2d 647.

Slowther et al. [2001] – A. Slowther, C. Bunch, B. Woolnough, T. Hope, Clinical ethics sup- port services in the UK: an investigation of the current provision of ethics support to health professionals in the UK, “Journal of Medical Ethics” 27, 2001 (suppl I): i2-i8.

Slowther et al. [2004a] – A. Slowther, C. Johnston, J. Goodall, T. Hope, Development of a national clinical ethics network, “BMJ” 328, 2004: 950-952.

Slowtheret al. [2004b] – A. Slowther, C. Johnston, J. Goodall, T. Hope, A practical guide for clinical ethics support, The Ethox Foundation, Oxford, 2004. www.ethics-network.org.uk/reading/Guide/Guide.htm

Sokol [2009] – D. Sokol, The unpalatable truth about ethics committees, “BMJ” 339, 2009: b4179.

Thornton, Lillford [1995] – J. Thornton, R. Lillford, Clinical ethics committees, “BMJ” 311, 1995: 667-669.

Updale [2000] – E. Updale, The challenge of lay membership of clinical ethics committees, “Cli- nical Ethics” 1 (1), 2000: 60-62.

Weiden [1987] – P. Weiden, Ethics by committee, “The New England Journal of Medicine” 317, 1987: 14-18.

Williamson et al. [2007] – L. Williamson, S. McLean, J. Connell, Clinical ethics committees in the United Kingdom: towards evaluation, “Medical Law International” 8 (3), 2007: 221-228.

Wolf [1992] – S.M. Wolf, Due process in ethics committee case review, “ HEC Forum” 4, 1992: 83-96.