UPDATE Spring 2008
In this edition we bring you news of the Council’s forthcoming consultation on dementia and an opportunity to join the Secretariat team.
Consultation on dementia
On 14th May, the Council will be launching a consultation on the ethical dilemmas that are faced by people with dementia and those who care for them, including families, carers, and health and social care professionals. The Council would like to hear people’s views on how decisions are made for or with people with dementia and the type of care they receive. Further information about the consultation, including a list of questions and how to respond, will be available on the Council’s website from 14th May. The deadline for responses is 31st July.
A Working Party was established to examine the ethical issues surrounding dementia in November 2007. The group is chaired by Tony Hope, Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Oxford. Responses to the consultation will be given serious consideration by the Working Party, and a report setting out the group’s findings will be published in autumn 2009.
Public lecture 2008
The Council has invited Professor Göran Hermerén, Chair of the European Group on Ethics and Professor of Medical Ethics, University of Lund, to give a public lecture on 7th May 2008 at the Royal Society in London. Professor Hermerén will argue that ethical principles have to be based on values of various kinds, and that the challenge is not only to clarify the meaning and application of these values but also to rank them in order of importance. He will use the current debate on interspecies embryo research to illustrate his approach and will consider the notion of European values in an age of globalisation.
The event is free and there are a few places left. To register, please contact Carol Perkins: cperkins@nuffieldbioethics.org
Job opportunity: Information Officer
We are looking to recruit an Information Officer to be involved in collating and disseminating information and resources for the Council (pay scale £17,988-£20,550). Applicants will need a degree in a relevant subject and experience of searching, accessing and using scientific and other relevant literature. They should have good interpersonal skills, attention to detail, an analytical and methodical approach, and be entitled to work in the UK. The closing date for applications is 16th May 2008 and interviews will be held on 11th June 2008.
Progress with previous reports
The Council carries out intensive dissemination activities for a year after the publication of a report. For example, Working Party members give presentations to stakeholders to encourage uptake of recommendations or simply to promote debate.
The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues (published September 2007)
The debate surrounding the National DNA Database has rarely been out of the media since this report of the Council was published last year. Representatives of the Council have given interviews on a regular basis and the report’s recommendations have been widely cited in articles. Ten presentations on the report have been given at a range of conferences and meetings, including the 2007 Labour Party Conference, an FBI symposium in Washington and several events attended by the general public and schoolchildren. The Council has also held individual meetings with policy makers, and provided evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee for its inquiry into ‘The Impact of Surveillance and Data Collection’. The report has been downloaded over 35,000 times from the Council’s website since publication.
Public health: ethical issues (published November 2007)
This report suggests an ethical framework for public health intervention, and discusses it in relation to four areas of public health: tobacco and alcohol, infectious disease, obesity, and fluoridation of water supplies. There have been many opportunities for the Council to debate the report’s recommendations since it was published as all of these topics are currently high on the public and political agenda. The debate around alcohol consumption has received particular attention, and several meetings between the Council and policy makers have taken place to discuss our recommendations in this area. The report has been raised in Parliament nine times in debates and questions related to public health. Fourteen presentations have been given on the report at meetings, such as the UK Public Health Association Annual Forum, with more planned for 2008. The report has been downloaded almost 90,000 times from the Council’s website since publication.
New Council members
The Council is delighted to welcome two new members: Professor Jonathan Wolff, Head of the Department of Philosophy at University College London, and Dr Amanda Burls, Director of Postgraduate Programmes in Evidence-Based Health Care at the University o f Oxford.
Recent consultation responses
The Council has recently submitted responses to a number of consultations of other organisations, including:
- The World Medical Association’s consultation on the Declaration of Helsinki
- The NICE’s consultation on ‘Social value judgements’
- The Data Sharing Review being carried out by Richard Thomas and Dr Mark Walport for the Ministry of Justice
- The Health Select Committee’s inquiry into health inequalities
Download all our responses here
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Last Updated Thu, 1 May 2008