Clinical Ethicists

Daniel Sokol says that there should be an army of clinical ethicists in UK hospitals in To live and let die.

In Britain, there are very few clinical ethicists. Most hospitals rely on the judgment of individual doctors or on ethics committees to settle ethical dilemmas. In the United States and Canada, however, ethicists are a common sight. Armed with bleepers and degrees in bioethics, ethicists can be called upon at any time both by medical staff and patients. While the clinical ethicist has no claim to greater virtue than others, his or her task is to assist in the resolution of moral problems that any doctor, nurse or patient might have.
Posted by Paul at September 16, 2003 03:32 AM |
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Perhaps a good idea - alongside further ethical education for medical staff.

Depends on remit, who is appointed and perhaps most importantly who does the appointing?

Posted by: Bonobo at September 18, 2003 05:18 PM