Clinical Ethics

Medical > Acute;

NHS Grampian Clincial Ethics Service

Ethical considerations have long been part of clinical decision making and there is currently an increasing focus on the ethical dimensions of clinical care. An ever-increasing number of legal cases and recent public enquiries have highlighted the importance of ethical considerations in clinical practice. There is now an expectation that health professionals are openly accountable for their decisions, including the ethical aspects of those decisions.To contact the Clinical Ethics Committee, write to:

Grampian Clinical Ethics Committee

The Clinical Ethics Committee of NHS Grampian has been meeting as a committee for a number of years and has provided ethical advice to clinicians, health care workers and hospital management in both difficult areas and changing clinical practice.

The committee meets regularly after office hours 9 times a year for approximately one hour to discuss matters arising, most commonly referred issues of clinical ethics and the ethical impact of policy and guideline development both in the area and nationally. Members of the committee regularly teach ethics to both undergraduate and post graduate medical groups.

The role of the NHS Grampian Clinical Ethics Committee falls into three broad areas:
  • To provide ethics input into the NHS Grampian Board policy and guidelines around patient care
  • To facilitate ethics education for all health professionals
  • To provide ethics advice to clinicians on individual cases

Members of the committee come from a variety of backgrounds: clinicians drawn from a wide spectrum of services, including mental health, public health and general practice. Health professionals from nursing, social work and the therapies. Professionals with backgrounds in religion, philosophy and law and representatives of the public. The membership is broad but deliberately non-representative and members are appointed based on knowledge of, and interest in, ethical matters.

Contact the Committee

Rosie Gauld
Clerk to NHS Grampian Clinical Ethics Committee
NHS Grampian
Summerfield House
Eday Road
Aberdeen
AB15 6RE

 

Bleep: 2387

Location

Summerfield House, Eday Road
Aberdeen
AB156RE
Published: 12/09/2024 09:55