11 May 2016 15:09

Two medical students are already influencing the British Medical Association by proposing ethical decision making guidance in every hospital.

The motion by Mariam Gaddah and Laura Mitchell was passed in a vote at the BMA Medical Students Conference 2016.

They proposed that this guidance should be fully accessible through hospital medical ethics committees, online tools and pathways.

Their suggestion will now help set the policy agenda for the BMA Medical Students’ Council.

Both students said that better ethical decision making guidance would lessen the number of medical court cases.

They said that their motion would support medical students and healthcare professionals and enable them to make a morally and ethically justified decision with the correct support network. 

“This will in turn promote patient’s welfare and maximize the best outcome for them. We should not have to wait for another healthcare scandal to introduce Hospital Ethics Committees. “

Hospital ethics committees were initially set up in America and there are already 85 in the UK.