Our role is to support you to identify, analyze, and resolve ethical issues. Ethical concerns may include issues related to:
- Access to Care or Treatment
- Adherence to Treatment
- Advance Care Planning
- Beginning-of-life Care Or End-of-life Care
- Decision-making capacity
- Code Status/Level of Care
- Conflict of Interest
- Conscientious Objection
- Disclosure
- Diversity And Cultural Sensitivity
- Duty of Care
| - Futility
- Informed Consent
- Justice, Equity and Human Rights
- Living at Risk
- Medical Assistance in Dying
- Moral Distress
- Priority Setting and Resource Allocation
- Privacy and Confidentiality
- Respect for Autonomy and Empowerment
- Substitute Healthcare Decision-Maker
- Withholding Or Withdrawing of Treatment
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| Bethan Everett
VGH/UBC Hospitals, GF Strong, George Pearson Centre, Vancouver Community, and VCH Affiliated Sites
Email: ethics@vch.ca
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| Julia Gill
Coastal sites (North Shore, Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Bella Coola & Bella Bella) & Richmond
Email: ethics@vch.ca
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| Kristina Smith
Richmond, Coastal (North Shore, Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast & Powell River, Bella Coola & Bella Bella), and VCH Affiliated Sites
Email: ethics@vch.ca
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| David Migneault
Physician Support Ethicist for all VCH & VCH affiliated sites
Email: ethics@vch.ca
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| Kim Jameson
Ethicist, VCH Ethics Services (maternity leave 10/15/21 to 10/15/22)
Email: ethics@vch.ca
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We can help by providing consultations with an individual Ethicist, an ethics committee or a small group of its members. This service is free, confidential and available to patients, clients, residents, substitute decision-makers, health care professionals and care providers.
- Bring clarity as a response to ethical questions.
- Assist in understanding ethical terms and concepts.
- Identify and help balance various, sometimes conflicting, interests in a particular case.
- Assist in developing and evaluating a care plan.
- Assist in identifying choices that will lead to the fulfillment of the organization's missions and values.
- Addressing discrepancies between clinical judgement and the wishes of patients or their surrogates.
- Interpreting patient wishes or advance directives.
- Discerning patient wishes or interests when there is no clear advance directive.
- Clarifying who the decision-makers are.
- Determining the extent of patient confidentiality.
- Respecting patient confidentiality.
- Resolving tensions related to religious beliefs or cultural backgrounds.