Ethics Committee

Ethics is our sense of “right” and “wrong”. It is defined by our moral principles and values.

Ethics plays a role in all areas of life and work, including health care. Health care providers, patients and visitors can sometimes have ethical dilemmas when there is no clear answer about what is right for a patient. Sometimes ethical dilemmas might not involve a patient or patient care at all.

The Grace Hospital has an ethics committee for discussing these types of issues for the purposes of learning. The committee provides opportunities for education. Education is used to promote the awareness of ethics and ethical frameworks. Education may encourage reflection and increase the level of consciousness about ethical issues among staff and volunteers.

The Ethics Committee facilitates past ethics case reviews. The purpose of these reviews is to discuss and debrief the ethical challenges identified from these previous experiences and to learn from each other.

Membership includes direct care staff, physicians, members of the Patient and Family Advisory Council, and Grace Hospital leadership.

The Committee meets routinely from September to June.  The Committee reports to the Chief Operating Officer and members of the Grace Hospital Executive Team.

Resources, including decision-making guides, can be found on the WRHA Ethics Services website: https://www.wrha.mb.ca/about/ethics/index.php