The Department of Health has funded a two year project for clinical ethics support in the UK. The UK Clinical Ethics Network was set up in 2001 to promote the development of clinical ethics support in the UK, to encourage a high level of ethical debate in clinical practice and to facilitate the sharing of information on ethics in practice. In 2001 there were known to be less than 30 clinical ethics committees or groups, this has steadily increased to 60 committees in NHS Trusts and PCTs in 2004.

Clinical ethics committees are multidisciplinary, comprising clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals lay members and usually religious and legal representation. The range of work of a CEC varies but most often will take to form of providing advice to health professionals on ethical issues arising in clinical practice, by way of case discussion (whether contemporaneous or retrospective). CECs may also provide education on ethical issues to those within the Trust and may also provide ethics input on Trust policy.

The UK Clinical Ethics Network enables the sharing of problems and solutions in ethics across all committees. A Newsletter is published three times a year and an Annual conference, hosted by a CEC, is held in the spring. In 2003 a website was launched to provide information to members of CECs on ethical legal and professional issues arising on topical matters. Training is also provided to members of ethics committees around the country.

The work of the UK Clinical Ethics Network is patient-centred as high quality ethics support to healthcare professionals enables a better provision of service to patients through good communication and awareness of issues such as respect for autonomy and justice.

The Network aims to take a broad perspective on ethical issues. The website has pages identifying key international issues of relevance to ethics in clinical practice. An aim of the Network Support Project is to facilitate discussion of ethical issues across Europe by taking the lead in establishing a European network for clinical ethics support.

For more information about this project contact Dr Anne Slowther