Clinical ethics committees (CECs) are well established in North America where they are known as hospital or health care ethics committees. Similar groups and other kinds of clinical ethics support are now developing in Europe. This supplement to the Journal of Medical Ethics provides an overview of the issues arising from the provision of clinical ethics support services, and clinical ethics co...

INTRODUCTION Female imprisonment has numerous health and social sequelae for both women prisoners and their children. Examples of comprehensive family-friendly prison policies that seek to improve the health and social functioning of women prisoners and their children exist but have not been evaluated. This study will determine the impact of exposure to a family-friendly prison environment on h...

OBJECTIVES To describe the population served and issues encountered by Hospital Ethics Committee consultation, to describe the incidence of consultation per hospital admission, and to describe the resource utilization per consult. PATIENTS AND METHODS This is a retrospective review of all ethics consults at a large urban teaching hospital and level one trauma center in a metropolitan area fro...

at the aim of explaining the rights of health care recipients and upgrading ethical observance in the field of treatment-the most important field of health care-, the patient's rights charter was declared by ministry of health and medical education to all medical universities in september 2009. this paper provides a report of strategic planning for implementation of patient's rights charter and...

To the Editor: The maternal mortality rate (MMR) in South Africa was 400/100 000 births in 20051 and at Johannesburg Hospital was 476/100 000 in 2008. Delay in referral and management during labour in the unit is an important cause of mortality and morbidity.2 Inadequate use of the partogram is a major avoidable factor in maternal deaths in South Africa and has previously been studied at Johann...

INTRODUCTION Open fractures with significant soft tissue injury are associated with high rates of complications, such as non-union, infection, chronic pain and disability. Complications often require further inpatient care, and in many cases, multiple operations and prolonged rehabilitation. Use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an adjunct to standard orthopaedic trauma care has the potential to ...