How can I access these Ethics Services?

For further assistance, call 780-492-6676.

There are three kinds of assistance or "consults" provided by the clinical ethicist and/or the ethics committee:

• a "preventive ethics" consult: this is similar to the goals and benefits of preventive healthcare....working to prevent an ethical problem, disagreement, or uncertainty from happening. Think of this as getting information about ethical aspects of everyday treatment and care as well as approaches which should help the caller be more prepared to address ethical issues.
• a "sounding board" consult: this consult helps a person examine the ethical aspects of a decision he or she must make and the goal is to help the person reach a more settled position.
• a "classic" consult: it's not unusual for patients, families, or members of a clinical team to have competing or very different views about a situation's ethical aspects. And sometimes the issue is not about different viewpoints, but about uncertainty or complex options.

These services are available to patients, family members, physicians, clinical team members, administrators/managers at the U of A and Stollery Children's Hospitals. In every case, the ethicist or ethics committee isn't the "decision-maker." Instead they provide timely information, encourage thoughtful discussions, help identify and analyze ethical issues or concerns in a particular situation, and offer recommendations.

However someone wanting ethical help doesn't have to figure out which kind of consult he or she needs before calling. We work that out with the person during the first telephone call. And the caller doesn't need to know whether it's the ethicist or the committee who should help. That's worked out during the first call, too. And whenever necessary, we also explain when we are not the appropriate people to help and then try to identify other options for the caller to consider.

For more specific information or to ask for our consult assistance, please call 780-492-6676 which is the University's John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre. Staff at the Centre provide ongoing administrative support to both the ethicist and the committee. And like all health-related interactions, confidentiality is always respected. During the workweek, our goal is for the ethicist or someone from the committee to be in contact with a caller in less than 24 hours.