No Easy Answers: The complicated and involved practice of ethics in health care during crises

(This discussion was recorded on October 19, 2022 at the Sir Charles Tupper Building)
Many of the controversial issues that emerged during the pandemic were characterized by ethical dilemmas. The role of values in healthcare provision became even more apparent. Now that the ethical foundations of health care practice have become a topic for public debate, how can a stronger understanding of how we balance ethical values and principles help us to improve health systems?
Why do we not have a national process for critical care triage? Can we depend on community solidarity during a crisis? How do we allocate limited resources and communicate various trade-offs in health care provision both during a crisis and for everyday operations? How do we secure the public’s support for these trade-offs? How do we acknowledge and respond to the moral distress that occurs during difficult times?
This panel will explore how we can use ethics to generate momentum for discussion about what matters in health care and how to achieve these important goals (i.e., with due attention to both substantive & process considerations).
Marika Warren - Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics at Dalhousie University and the Network Ethicist for the Nova Scotia Health Ethics Network
Christy Simpson - an Associate Professor and previous Head of the Department of Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
Maxwell Smith - Bioethicist and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Western University
Bashir Jiwani - Lead Ethicist and Executive Director, Ethics and Diversity Services, at the Fraser Health Authority
Audio only: shorturl.at/BCHVW
0:00 Welcome and Introduction
4:16 Marika Warren
20:18 Maxwell Smith
32:11 Christy Simpson
45:20 Bashir Jiwani
56:31 Q&A