Ethics, legal, and professional responsibilities Flashcards
What is law?
principles and regulations (legislation, custom and policies) established by authority and enforced by judicial decision
What is the role of law in healthcare?
- Tool for improving the health of populations
- Public health legislation sets out the responsibilities and functions of governments
- Govs need functioning health systems that are supported by strong legal frameworks
Can legal duties conflict with ethical responsibilities in healthcare?
yes
Case study: Tatiana Tarasoff
- 1968: Tarasaoff rejects Poddar
- Poddar reveals to psychologist that he intends to kill her
- Psychologist notified campus police - his superior says to leave it
- Tarasoff was murdered by Poddar
Ruling on confidentiality by US Supreme Court
therapists have a duty to protect others when they reasonably believe their patient poses a serious risk of violence
What is conscientious objection?
Objecting to carry out a task that goes against a person’s beliefs or moral values
Health Act 2018
According to the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, a healthcare worker can refuse to perform a termination on the grounds of a conscientious objection
The Right to die: case study
- Marie Fleming was diagnosed with MS
- Low quality of life
- Advocated for assisted suicide
- Court decided not to make special constitutional rights for certain groups as they were mindful of assisted suicide being misused or abused.
- The Dying with Dignity Bill is before the Dáil
What can give you ethical guidance as a SLT?
- Principles of ethics
- Professional competencies on placement
- CORU Code of Conduct and Ethics
- IASLT Code of Ethics
Legal duties of CORU by their SLT registration board
- Keep a register of all professionals in the field
- Evaluating and endorsing training programmes for healthcare workers
- Setting professional conduct rules and performance standards for SLTs
- Being the authorized body responsible for recognizing qualifications earned outside the country
Additional Ethical Guidance:
- Policies and Procedures
- National Consent policy
Importance of policies and procedures
- Important for providing a safe and high-quality healthcare service
- Tells people what to do in certain situations
What is the national consent policy?
- HSE policy so staff understand the need for consent and how to apply the policy - Includes social and healthcare interventions in all settings
- Consent: the giving of permission or agreement for an intervention, receipt or use of a service or participation in research following a process of communication about the proposed intervention
- Recognised in Irish and international law
What are the requirements for consent?
- Decision-making capacity (move towards will and preference)
- Disclosure of information
- Comprehension (may need 2 sessions to make sure and have consistency)
- Voluntariness (e.g. body language)
- Agreement
What is the Capacity Act of 2015?
only enacted recently
“Citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law. This shall not be held to mean that the State shall not in its enactments have due regard to differences of capacity…..; it also provides that the State will vindicate the personal rights of citizens”
(Article 40.1.
Bunreacht na hEireann)
