loading page

CRITCON-Pandemic Levels - a stepwise ethical approach to clinician responsibility
  • +2
  • Dan Harvey,
  • Andrew McGee,
  • Thea DeBeer,
  • David Shaw,
  • Dale Gardiner
Dan Harvey
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Andrew McGee
Author Profile
Thea DeBeer
Author Profile
David Shaw
Author Profile
Dale Gardiner
Author Profile

Abstract

CRITCON-Pandemic Levels with an associated Operational Responsibility Matrix were recently published by the Intensive Care Society as a modification to Winter Flu CRITCON levels, to better account for differences between a winter flu surge in critical care activity and the capacity challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic1. In this paper we propose an expansion and explanation of the Operational Matrix to suggest a stepwise ethical approach to clinician responsibility. We propose and outline the main ethical risks created at each level and discuss how those risks can be mitigated through a balanced application of the predominant ethical principle which in turn provides practical guidance to clinician responsibility. We thus seek to specify the ethical and legal principles that should be used in applying the Operational Matrix, and what the practical effects could be.
Feb 2022Published in Journal of the Intensive Care Society volume 23 issue 1 on pages 70-77. 10.1177/1751143720950542