Ethical Dilemma

[attentionhoard]

In my Health and Medical Ethics class, we're discussing practical situations that may arise for health professionals and the ethical questions raised by each. For the most part, because I tend to have a pretty defined moral/ethical code, I can come to a firm decision and supportive argument for each

Comments

[butterflysteve]

I asked my mother about this for lo she works in a hospital and she said that: If the patient has directly come to you or expressed that he/she intends to discharge themselves so that they can go home and commit suicide, that ethically you should get a mental health assesment for the patient and in some cases section them. If they haven't expressed directly that they are going to commit suicide then it is within their own right to discharge themselves.

Personally if someone told me they were going to kill themselves then that is usually the person asking for help and them not really wanting to kill themselves... so I'd probably get them to talk to someone or maybe have them assessed before allowing them to be discharged.

[attentionhoard]

That's what I'm thinking. The hospital should dig deeper into the patient's desire to end their life. Is it suffering, is it mental instability, is it...? I think the medical professionals involved have the responsibility of assessing the situation and providing the patient in question with all necessary information on the disease, the possible drug cocktails available, medical procedures..etc so that maybe a more informed decision can be made.