The Children’s Bioethics Centre provides the
Clinical Ethics Service for The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) campus. The service advises and supports hospital staff work through complex decision-making, often in emotionally fraught situations. Our ethics case consultation process provides an open, collaborative space to discuss ethical considerations and come to an ethically appropriate and mutually agreed plan. The types of referrals include: parents refusing medically recommended treatment for their child, clinicians contemplating offering experimental or non-standard interventions, and children or adolescents refusing investigations or medical treatment.
We work together with staff, using established ethical principles in a multi-disciplinary forum that emphasises openness, respect and collaboration, to address some of the really difficult questions arising in clinical care. This process provides ethically sound options for patient care and may alleviate moral distress for all concerned. Our process has become a benchmark in the child and family-centred care provided at the RCH.
The Children's Bioethics Centre also provides:
a dynamic research program that is practice-based, collaborative and translational. It aims to undertake research which will be useful in the clinical setting. a dynamic research program that is practice-based, collaborative and translational. It aims to undertake research which will be useful in the clinical setting.
tailored and responsive education and training programs embedded in the hospital structure
ethical policy
advice and guidance to the RCH executive, peak health professional bodies and government, both state and federal
Learn more about the four main areas of activity of The Children’s Bioethics Centre: Bioethics introductory video (5 mins)
15th National Paediatrics Bioethics Conference
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Conference resized bannerClick on the banner for more information and to register.
Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program, 2024 - Medical program announced
The Children’s Bioethics
Centre's Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program will be offered to medical staff in Oct-Nov this year. For more information or to register, contact Georgina Hall.
The course consists of 3 full
study days over 6 weeks and participants must be able to attend all days.
Essential Ethics podcast series
The Ethics Toolkit (6 episodes), Classic Conundrums (5 episodes), Special COVID-19 Pandemic Ethics in a Children's Hospital (3 episodes) and past Conferences. All are available at
www.rch.org.au/podcasts/essential-ethics/