[Medical ethics and the public health office]

The Federal Office of Public Health is a governmental administration in charge of control and coordination measures related to the field of health protection. A rough 20% of the 220 officials and employees have university education prevailingly in medicine or natural sciences. Any government is working for the benefit of the general public and ought not to end in itself. Although there is a potential danger of abuse of official authority and power and of corruption, such deviations have proved to be quite rare in Switzerland. The safety guarantees are sufficient and we furthermore dispose in general of a professionally and morally well qualified staff. A governmental institution is as good or as bad as the humans working for it. A careful selection of the civil servants is therefore of utmost importance. On the whole, the quality of our civil service is quite superior to its reputation. Negative global judgements are to be declined. The Federal Office of Public Health aims at respecting the principles of the medical ethics in all its activities.