Nuffield Council on Bioethics briefing note, April 2019
Disagreements in the care and treatment of critically ill babies and young children
The briefing note outlines the possible causes of disagreements between parents and healthcare staff, and highlights areas of action for healthcare policy-makers and NHS leaders that could help to prevent prolonged and damaging disagreements developing in future, or to resolve them more quickly.
Overall, they suggest the aim should be:
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- good communication between families and staff and an understanding of differing perspectives
- appropriate involvement of parents in discussions and decisions about the care and treatment of their child
- timely use of resolution interventions, such as mediation, in cases of disagreement
- attention to the profound psychological effects that disagreements can have for families and staff.The briefing note is available at: http://nuffieldbioethics.org/project/disagreements-care-critically-ill-children.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Nuffield Council on Bioethics if you would like to discuss any aspects of the briefing note:
020 7681 9622