By Michelle Medeiros, Hillary Edwards and Claudia Baquet. Possible long-term effects of COVID-19: As we continue to learn more about SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), there is emerging evidence on long-term impacts. Recent publications identified long-term effects including, but not limited to, fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, headache, chest, muscle and joint pain, fast or pounding heartbeat, loss […]
Category: Public Health
Breaking bad news during the COVID-19 pandemic – a dilemma for paramedics, their patients and their loved ones
By Iain Campbell. The initial stages of the lockdown that happened in the UK in 2020 was a hectic time to be working on ambulances in London. Like many of our colleagues across the NHS, we were encountering a large number of very unwell patients. There was a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, […]
Good health policy requires good moral philosophy
By Derek Soled. Now, more than ever, countries around the world need good health policy. While more big data and efficiency are important, better integration of the humanities embodied in moral philosophy will help achieve this goal. In policymaking decisions, ethicists deserve a place at the table as their insights into human behaviour are essential […]
NICE Draft Quality Standards on FASD: A misplaced focus?
By Rachel Arkell. In early March, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) launched the consultation period for the first draft of their Quality Standards on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which covers the assessment and diagnosis of those affected by FASD. It is, of course, vital that diagnosis and support services are […]
Finding a vaccine against the novel coronavirus: why challenge trials can be ethical even when a lot remains unknown
By Robert Steel, Lara Buchak, Nir Eyal Multiple authors believe that the development of coronavirus vaccines could be substantially accelerated through the use of challenge trials, in which participants are deliberately exposed to the virus. The tremendous loss of life and health and significant social and economic upheaval from ongoing worldwide pandemic make acceleration of […]
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for ethical health communication
By Jamie Carlin Watson Increased understanding of social determinants of health and health literacy have expanded the responsibilities of the medical community from patients in the clinic to citizens at increased health risks. Fulfilling these responsibilities involves, in part, distributing timely and accurate health information that is accessible, understandable, and usable. Though increased commitment to […]
Finding the space for ethics during a global crisis
By Mary Hall, Deborah Mbofana, Merryn Ekberg, and Mitch Harper The concept of emergency preparedness is based on the need to act rather than plan, to be able to pick up and run with a ready prepared, detailed plan. In the UK, the Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response and Recovery sections of The Civil Contingencies […]
How should non-life-saving surgery be rationed?
Helen Turnham, Guy Thorburn and Dominic Wilkinson. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a total shut down of elective surgery within the NHS. In the forthcoming months there will be re-initiation of elective surgery but at significantly reduced capacity. The combination of pre-existing backlog, a protracted period of no surgery and an anticipated future period of […]
Sharing Patient Data for Research – a Matter Of Trust
By Rob Lawrence. Through a unique deliberative process involving public participation, we arrive at some conclusions which initially I found surprising (even counter-intuitive) about how best to foster trust in a large organisation such as the NHS, especially where use of patient data plays a key role in research. Using formal guidelines, ethics committees and […]
What are Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson talking about when they talk about protecting the NHS? And why does it matter?
By Piyush Pushkar What is the NHS? “Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.” The UK government’s public health messaging from 20 March to 10 May was short and direct. The brevity suggests clarity of meaning, but that clarity begins to dissipate when one asks, “What is the NHS?” The short answer is that the […]