How do I request an ethics consultation at a hospital?
Ask your nurse, the spiritual care office, patient relations, or the social worker. Ask if you can request it yourself. Ask if there is a cost. Chaplains and ethics consultations are open to patients of any faith.
An ethics consultation is not a court, and it does not overrule you. It is a small group. Its job is to help patients, families, and clinicians work through a hard decision. That might be a feeding tube, or a disagreement between siblings. It might be a treatment the team believes is futile that the family wants continued. It might be an advance directive that seems to clash with the plan.
The Ethical and Religious Directives expect Catholic facilities to make this available. Directive 26 says each person, or the person who speaks for them, should have access to "morally sound resources and guidance," including "pastoral counsel and ethics consultations." The aim is to "form his or her conscience."
Does the situation involve religion as well as medicine? Ask for the chaplain and the ethics consultation together, not separately.
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Want the full picture? Read our complete explanation: What to Expect at a Catholic Hospital
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