Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Background In the aftermath of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, allocation of non-urgent medical interventions is a persistent ethical challenge as health systems currently face an unprecedented backlog of patients requiring treatment. Difficult decisions must be made that prioritis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wellcome
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Wellcome Open Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/8-385/v2 |
| _version_ | 1797335371486330880 |
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| author | Michael Parker Sapfo Lignou Ingrid Wolfe Mark Sheehan |
| author_facet | Michael Parker Sapfo Lignou Ingrid Wolfe Mark Sheehan |
| author_sort | Michael Parker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background In the aftermath of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, allocation of non-urgent medical interventions is a persistent ethical challenge as health systems currently face an unprecedented backlog of patients requiring treatment. Difficult decisions must be made that prioritise certain patients over others. Ethical resource allocation requires that the needs of all patients are considered properly, but at present there is no guidance that can help support such decision-making which explicitly considers the needs of children with chronic and complex conditions. Methods This paper reviews the NHS guidance for priorities and operational planning and examines how the needs of children with chronic illness are addressed in NHS objectives for restoring services and meeting elective care demands. Results The usual criteria for prioritisation featured in the NHS guidance fail to account for the distinct needs of children with chronic illnesses and fail to match more general considerations of what constitutes fair resource allocation decisions. To address this issue, two considerations, namely 'protecting age-related opportunity' and 'recognising complexity of care,' are proposed as additions to the existing approach. Conclusion By providing a broader conception of needs, these criteria address inefficiencies of the current guidance and relevant ethical frameworks and help to embed a currently missing children-related ethical approach to healthcare policy making in general. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:36:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-31fb39a70615441ea422cae0d5e1e4d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-502X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:36:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Wellcome |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wellcome Open Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-31fb39a70615441ea422cae0d5e1e4d22024-02-02T01:00:01ZengWellcomeWellcome Open Research2398-502X2024-01-01823046Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Michael Parker0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7054-4711Sapfo Lignou1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9753-7298Ingrid Wolfe2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4717-7634Mark Sheehan3Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UKEthox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UKInstitute for Women and Children’s Health, King's College London, London, England, UKEthox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UKBackground In the aftermath of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, allocation of non-urgent medical interventions is a persistent ethical challenge as health systems currently face an unprecedented backlog of patients requiring treatment. Difficult decisions must be made that prioritise certain patients over others. Ethical resource allocation requires that the needs of all patients are considered properly, but at present there is no guidance that can help support such decision-making which explicitly considers the needs of children with chronic and complex conditions. Methods This paper reviews the NHS guidance for priorities and operational planning and examines how the needs of children with chronic illness are addressed in NHS objectives for restoring services and meeting elective care demands. Results The usual criteria for prioritisation featured in the NHS guidance fail to account for the distinct needs of children with chronic illnesses and fail to match more general considerations of what constitutes fair resource allocation decisions. To address this issue, two considerations, namely 'protecting age-related opportunity' and 'recognising complexity of care,' are proposed as additions to the existing approach. Conclusion By providing a broader conception of needs, these criteria address inefficiencies of the current guidance and relevant ethical frameworks and help to embed a currently missing children-related ethical approach to healthcare policy making in general.https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/8-385/v2Children chronic illness medical complexities healthcare prioritisation ethical framework equality of opportunityeng |
| spellingShingle | Michael Parker Sapfo Lignou Ingrid Wolfe Mark Sheehan Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] Wellcome Open Research Children chronic illness medical complexities healthcare prioritisation ethical framework equality of opportunity eng |
| title | Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | Healthcare resource allocation decisions and non-emergency treatments in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. How should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes? [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | healthcare resource allocation decisions and non emergency treatments in the aftermath of covid 19 pandemic how should children with chronic illness feature in prioritisation processes version 2 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | Children chronic illness medical complexities healthcare prioritisation ethical framework equality of opportunity eng |
| url | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/8-385/v2 |
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