The existence of ethics is a reflection of the increasing ethical questions in the health sector and the discomfort of answering them alone. Organ replacement therapy and intensive care are some of the developments that led to the inception of ethics in the health sector. At a time when tough decisions need to be made, health ethics consultants have come in to share the responsibility of tough decision making in the American health system.
Present in nearly every hospital in the US, notable strides have been made since their inception around the 1960s and 70s when they were non existent. By 1980s, their presence was only felt in 1% of the hospitals. By the end of the 1980s, the number had risen to about 60% of all hospitals practicing it. By the late 1990s, the figure was nearly 90% of all hospitals in the country. The New Jersey Court instituted the first hospital ethical committee in 1976 when it determined that Karen Ann Quinlan had both moral and constitutional law to refuse treatment even if it resulted in her death (Huang, 2 015 ). This was followed by the abolition of abortion laws. In the early 1980s, the American academy of pediatrics required that hospitals with neonatal intensive care facilities establish the infants bioethics committees to advice on the treatment of infants with severe disabilities. The case was thrown out of court on the basis that it was unlawful and only parents had the right to grant the request of treatment of child. Today, ethical committees continue their operations with special interest in the end-of-life care conflicts.
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The membership of the ethical committee is a representative of all departments in the hospital. It consists of thirty members coming from major medical and clinical departments such as nursing, social work, and allied health; pastoral care, the community and hospital administration, legal practitioners and at least a medical student. These members are appointed by the hospital management board. They need depending upon request since ethical issues come up at unexpected times. When a patient has an issue to be addressed, he/she may call upon the indulgence of the committee.
Issues handled by the hospital ethical committees include promotion of the patients' rights by ensuring medical practitioners treat them according to their preference (Courtwright, Abrams, & Robinson, 2017). . It also entails privacy and integrity matters. In cases where patients are incapable of making important decisions, the committee comes handy to help with difficult decision. For example a 21 year old patient declined treatment yet he was in a critical condition although the doctor needed to treat him. In such a situation, the ethics committee comes to help out. The members discuss policies and procedures that are likely to promote good and patient-centered outcomes. They also look for ways to promote a healthy ethical environment for the health care providers.
The hospital ethical committee conducts it’s functions in such a way that it plays an advisory role with the final decision making on the patients ( Bandini et Al, 2017). The power to make decisions therefore as regards to an individual patient condition primarily remains with the patient. However, some regulations, procedures and practices can be discouraged because they are unethical.
Patients have highly benefited from the ethical committees. One of the positive things to note is the ability to listen to the patients. It has also ensured patients are served according to the way they prefer.
The ethical committee is a very important committee in the hospital. Hospitals have been able to have healthy ethical environments while patients have been given great attention. Ethical committees cannot be overruled since their impact has been tremendous.
References
Bandini, J. I., Courtwright, A., Zollfrank, A. A., Robinson, E. M., & Cadge, W. (2017). The role of religious beliefs in ethics committee consultations for conflict over life-sustaining treatment. Journal of medical ethics , medethics-2016.
Courtwright, A. M., Abrams, J., & Robinson, E. M. (2017). The role of a hospital ethics consultation service in decision-making for unrepresented patients. Journal of bioethical inquiry , 14 (2), 241-250.
Huang, S. (2015). S14. Critical Care Medicine: Hospital Ethics Committee. Journal of anesthesia history , 1 (3), 93.
