Heartbeat: The only way is ethics

March 31, 2021

As astonishing as it is to say – let alone write – we have surpassed one year since we in our organisation (and the wider NHS) took our first actions in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. A situation which dominated 2020 and seems set to leave an indelible mark on the rest of 2021 as well.

With such a difficult task behind, as well as in front of us, it is important that those of us medically trained maintain our standards for ourselves as well as the benefits of our patients, even when we are faced with difficult decisions. In March 2020, the Clinical Ethics Committee (CEC) was set up, led by Dr David Nicholl as chairman. The committee is there to assist with – but not replace – clinical decision making. It’s a sounding board of medical peers within the Trust if you will.

“We realised at the beginning of the pandemic that we needed to set up a clinical ethics committee, which some, but not all hospitals have. It differs from a research ethics committee that will look at research trials. The clinical ethics committee reviews any controversial areas of clinical medicine where ethical issues arise, not just those concerning the pandemic. Areas that we have looked at recently related to treatment escalation pathways, resuscitation decisions and ethical issues about delaying the second COVID-19 vaccination in light of the worsening pandemic. We hope that we can provide support and education for all staff as ethical issues arise in their work.”

If you wish to submit an ethical issue for discussion, please complete the ethics committee referral form which can be found on Connect. This should then be submitted to both swbh.clinical-ethics-group@nhs.net  as well as david.nicholl@nhs.net.

For any informal queries colleagues are welcome to discuss with their concerns with Dr Nicholl, or any member of the committee.

All discussions will take place in a confidential manner although a copy of the submission with the CEC’s outcome will subsequently be included within the patient’s record for transparency. You will be contacted for more information if required.