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Ethical issues in Australian hospitals
P M McNeill1, J D Walters, I W Webster
1School of Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington.
Objective:
To identify the most common ethical issues of concern in Australian hospitals.
Design:
A descriptive study using data collected by means of a questionnaire.
Participants:
Seven hundred and thirty-nine (74%) hospital administrators and employees nominated by hospital administrators in Australian public and private hospitals.
Results:
Over half the respondents reported that ethical concerns had been raised in relation to: making "not for resuscitation orders"; the treatment of patients with HIV and AIDS; interprofessional conflict; and the allocation of resources.
Conclusion:
"End of life" concerns, patient autonomy issues, questions of resource distribution, and communication difficulties commonly raise ethical concerns in Australian hospitals.
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