Justice and Patients' Rights Flashcards
what was Keynesian economics?
It’s the role of the State to invest into the market/economy, especially in times of financial depression e.g. when there is high unemployment rates.. The investment of the state stimulates market growth and has financial benefits. It also helps with funding for state education, public house initiatives, employment creation and development and health services aimed to help individuals be healthy.
what were the four ‘giants of want’ that William Beveridge aimed to fight in the Beverage plan?
- ignorance
- disease
- idleness
- squalor
*the beverage plan basically planned to get people off their arses: if you don’t work, don’t get money
who and when was the NHS created?
1948 - Aneurin Bevan
On what four principles was the NHS created?
- Provide an equitable distribution of health services
- Provide services which were accountable to the nation
- Give a sense of collective purpose or mission
- promote the health of the nation
which groups opposed the NHS?
- The Carlton Club - members of the Tory Party
- The Conservative (Tory) Party
- The Medical Profession - surprisingly!
- The BMA
*Bevan “silenced them by stuffing their mouths with gold.”
what reasons did people have for opposing the NHS?
- the State would regulate medicine and restrict freedom
- medics would earn less money
- patients would not be able to choose the health professions which they wish to consult with
when were prescription, dentistry and optical service charges introduced and why?
prescriptions = 1949
dentistry and optician = 1951
The NHS were using more money than they had expected initially and the funding had to be increased but this still wasn’t enough. Bevan talked about the need to stem the ‘escapes of medicines pouring down British throats’ - all medicines were free and too many were being prescribed doolalee.
What is the difference between Formal and Substantive Justice?
formal justice = equality (treat everyone the same but there are still inequalities)
substantive justice = equity (positive discrimination - takes into account inequalities)
*substantive justice also known as Aristotle’s Formal Principle of Justice
Explain the theory of Justice as Desert.
treat people according to how deserving they are. (getting your ‘just deserts’)
therefore people with self-inflicted diseases/injuries considered less worthy of treatment.
-how far do we take this?
-‘noble failures’ - e.g. person who tried really hard to give up smoking vs someone who found it easy to quit - is moral credit given to the person who tried but could not quit?
-what if person didn’t know habit was bad for them when they started and now they’re hooked?
-poverty link
> people who can afford private treatment can still get treatment but those who can’t afford are stuck - two-tiered health system.
Explain the theory of Justice as maximising utility.
-basically utilitarianism - maximising benefit for the greatest number of people (so whichever treatment produces most good for most people)
proposed by Jeremy Bentham
- people may not always have a say in decision e.g. blood donation in Jehovah’s Witnesses - utilitarian would say that giving them blood is greatest good for greatest number of people
- needs of majority outweigh needs of minority
- desert does not play a part in decision - if most people who get lung cancer get it from smoking, still need to treat those people
Explain the theory of Justice as satisfying need.
- Karl Marx - socialism
- ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’
- those who have lots of health care needs will have more money spent on them than those who have no health care needs
- needs are not just generated naturally but by social environment
- problems in identifying what is a want and what is a need e.g. IVF treatment
- can be seen as subjective rather than objective
Explain the Value of life/Fair Innings Approach.
- states that it is worse for someone to die prematurely than to die in old age, even if that person wants to continue living.
- therefore people who have already had their ‘fair innings’ i.e. are in old age, will be considered of lower priority in terms of treatment compared to someone who is young and are unlikely to survive to middle-age without healthcare.
Important thing to note about QALYs:
regards a year of unhealthy life to be worse than death
as death = 0, perfect health = 1 and unhealthy = less than 1
therefore in calculations, year of death is disregarded.
What is the Judicial Review?
Constitution which balances power between the government, parliament and the Judiciary.
What is double jeopardy?
when there are two conflicting issues/circumstances an so you choose not to do anything/help neither.
