scholarly journals 60 Opening the Narrative on Deprivation of Liberty for the Older Person in Residential Healthcare Facilities: A Legal and Ethical Dilemma

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii17-iii65
Author(s):  
Florence Hogan ◽  
Adrian Ahern

Abstract Background While many people enter residential care of their own free will and because it is their preference, the evidence tells us that there are also many who if they had the choice would remain in their own homes. Lack of appropriate community supports may provide some impetus to enter residential care. According to Care Alliance Ireland, an additional four million hours of homecare needs to be provided to cope with the successful ageing demographics, at a cost of €110 million. There is no statutory or common-law power to detain a patient in a Healthcare Facility outside of the application of the Mental Health Act 2001. This presents legal, ethical and moral dilemmas for Healthcare Providers when caring for a person who lacks capacity wishes to self - discharge. A duty of care obligates healthcare professionals to act in the best interest of the individual. Under the Health Act 2007 the requirement is to provide for a ‘safe discharge’. Pending advancement of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 which provides a statutory framework to assist and support individuals to make legally-binding agreements about their welfare, their property and affairs we are currently acting under the Lunacy Regulations (1871). Methods We developed a ‘Deprivation of Liberty’ form which enable comprehensive Interdisciplinary Team discussion and direction of care. Presumption of capacity, respect for the resident’s wishes and consideration of all possible supportive actions up to and including sourcing community support services were considered. Results This format has enabled comprehensive discussion and robust adherence to human rights for three residents thus far Conclusion The situation remains that there is no legal framework to guide healthcare providers currently. Using a Human Rights based approach is imperative to guide us while awaiting advancement of the ADMA (2015) and Deprivation of Liberty legislation to be included in this act.

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyrone Edwards ◽  
Suresh Sankaranarayanan

Access to the correct healthcare facility is a major concern for most people, many of whom gather information about the existing hospitals and healthcare facilities in their locality. After gathering such information, people must do a comparison of the information, make a selection, and then make an appointment with the concerned doctor. The time spent for this purpose would be a major constraint for many individuals. Research is currently underway in this area on incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the services available in the health industry. This paper proposes an agent based approach to replicate the same search operations as the individual would otherwise do, by employing an intelligent agent. The proposed agent based system has been simulated and also validated through implementation on an individual’s smart phone or a PDA using JADE-LEAP agent development kit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 093-099
Author(s):  
Nermeen Abdel-Fattah Shehab ◽  
Ahmed Atef Faggal ◽  
Ashraf Ali Nessim

The idea of searching: This study tends to assess the impact of implementing evidence-based infection prevention in healthcare facilities in Egypt, with the aim of improving surveillance systems and altering the facility designs according to the data acquired on HAIs patterns. Background: Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are becoming one of the major concerns for the patients and healthcare providers leading to significant increase in mortality rates, morbidity rates and financial losses for healthcare organizations. The incidence rate of HAI in Egypt was as recorded as 3.7% recently. Certain environmental interventions, implemented during construction of the healthcare facility could lead to enhanced prevention against the transmission and spread of the HAIs. Studies revealed that the integration of Surveillance programs could provide evidence for the designers to alter the healthcare facility design with the aim of infection prevention. Therefore, EBD approach is used to potentially measure psychological and physical effects of the environment design of a health facility on the patients and hospital staff. Methodology: Previous scientific literature is assessed to collect the relevant data which is then organized and analyzed in this study. A systematic review is generated based on the analytical outcomes of the selected data. Conclusion: EBD approach has the potential to prominently decrease HAIs burden in Egyptian healthcare facilities as it provides a diverse insight into the layout, equipment, and materials that contribute in the transmission of pathogens due to faulty design. Findings and recommendations: In order to improve the poor indoor quality by MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), previous studies have also indicated certain solutions including advancements in private room, improved surface selections, isolation, integration of touchless systems, and enhanced ventilation systems that must be applied in the healthcare facilities in Egypt for infection prevention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-273
Author(s):  
V. Riordan

The report of the expert group on the review of the Mental Health Act has recommended that the requirement to consider the best interests of the person be replaced by a list of guiding principles, which focus on the autonomy of the individual. The implied rationale for this is that acting in our patients’ best interests may be a violation of their human rights. Dignity is being proposed as an alternative way of capturing ‘the positive aspects associated with best interests’, but it is not clear how dignity is preferable to best interests. Both approaches may help protect the most vulnerable from exploitation. However, unlike best interests, dignity can be used as a synonym for autonomy. Valuing autonomy as a means to an end (instrumental value) should be distinguished from valuing autonomy as an end in itself (intrinsic value). As the ultimate end of instrumental autonomy is invariably the person’s best interests, abandoning that principle renders instrumental autonomy obsolete, leaving intrinsic autonomy as the supreme value. As best interest, dignity and autonomy rarely conflict, the proposed changes may appear minor, but they are not. When such values do conflict, acting against our patients’ interests may become inevitable.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-142
Author(s):  
Evan Bingham ◽  
David Whitaker ◽  
Jay Christofferson ◽  
Justin Weidman

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to investigate and report the implementation of evidence-based design (EBD) principles relating to user controls into hospital renovation projects. Background: Progress requires the application of the most recent knowledge and technology. When it comes to the design and construction of healthcare facilities, the latest knowledge comes in the form of EBD research. EBD is the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes. The desired outcomes of EBD recommendations include improvements to enhance user control. User control factors include the individual control over bed position, air temperature, lights, sound, and natural light. Method: A list of recommendations from existing EBD literature related to user controls was compiled. Construction documents from 30 recent healthcare facility renovation projects across the United States were obtained and analyzed. Implementation levels for the EBD categories of user controls were reported. Results: The findings indicate relatively extensive industry use of EBD principles relating to user control of temperature, lights, and natural lighting. Conclusions: The findings indicate that EBD recommendations related to user controls are being adopted in practice at consistently high levels. These findings also reveal that there are still areas of potential improvement which could inform those who influence or determine building design, codes, standards, and guidelines. The results are helpful to owners, designers, and contractors by providing a glimpse into how well the industry is recognizing and implementing known best practices. The findings likewise introduce new opportunities for further research which could lead to additional improvement in the healthcare facilities of the future.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-32
Author(s):  
Thomas Keenan

Abstract Despite the ubiquitous coverage of the Libyan revolution throughout the last six months, very little has been said regarding the legal foundations for the rebels’ actions. Within the international legal framework, it must be asked whether the Libyan people even had a legal right in the first place to overthrow the Gaddafi regime. In fact, the existence of a right to rebel under international law is very much an unsettled matter. Among the sources of international law, a right to rebel is not enumerated in any of the principal international instruments. In truth, the only significant mention of the right is a passing but ambiguous reference in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A customary right of revolution is similarly absent, as many nations criminalize treason and other insurrectionary activities. Instead, if such a right exists in international law, it must derive from the well-enshrined right of self-determination. Th is right would thus constitute an additional exception to international law’s general prohibition on the use force, standing alongside self-defense and Security Council peace enforcement. Yet establishing a right of revolution would mark a significant departure from these other exemptions. In essence, the right of revolution represents an allowance for non-state actors to resort to force unilaterally for the protection of human rights. For this very reason, contemporary international law likely does not recognize a popular right to revolt. In light of international law’s fi rm restrictions on lawful uses of force, there is no evidence that the law currently acknowledges a novel exception for the individual enforcement of human rights. Th us, in the absence of a change in the law, the proper legal remedy for the Libyan people was not rebellion but rather an appeal to the international community.


Author(s):  
Laurence Brunet ◽  
Véronique Fournier

This chapter compares French and American approaches to assisted reproductive technologies (ART). These countries are a fascinating (and unexplored) mirror: the United States focuses on the individual, while France emphasizes the best interest of society as a whole. This results in an access to ART largely open in the United States, yet all costs are covered by patients, and an access strictly regulated by law in France (and quite restricted until recent changes), yet costs are fully financed. This chapter introduces readers to the legal framework of access to ART in France and its cultural foundations. It highlights the insistence on the “right to privacy” in the United States, a concept much less valued in France, and concludes with a discussion, using clinical cases, of the ethical issues underlying tensions between reproductive autonomy and public policymaking, which differ in both countries.


Author(s):  
Tyrone Edwards ◽  
Suresh Sankaranarayanan

Access to the correct healthcare facility is a major concern for most people, many of whom gather information about the existing hospitals and healthcare facilities in their locality. After gathering such information, people must do a comparison of the information, make a selection, and then make an appointment with the concerned doctor. The time spent for this purpose would be a major constraint for many individuals. Research is currently underway in this area on incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the services available in the health industry. This paper proposes an agent based approach to replicate the same search operations as the individual would otherwise do, by employing an intelligent agent. The proposed agent based system has been simulated and also validated through implementation on an individual’s smart phone or a PDA using JADE-LEAP agent development kit.


Author(s):  
Md. Morshed Alom

Citizens enjoy protections and different kinds of rights in a country as its nationals. The stateless people,who are denied citizenships to any country, are deprived of such kinds of protections and rights, even thefundamental human rights. Among all the minority groups of the world, the United Nations considers theRohingyas of the Arakan in Myanmar as one of the most persecuted one. They have been deprived ofcitizenship of their country for long. They see a bleak future for them when the people of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are eagerly waiting for a greater regional identity. The Rohingyasare deprived of fundamental human rights and are victims of state persecution policies. This factcontradicts with the regional value creation endeavors of the ASEAN. This paper is based on a review ofthe relevant literature on the issue. It looks into the origin of the so called ‘statelessness’ of theRohingyas, examines the international legal framework for the protection of the stateless people ingeneral, and the commitment of the individual ASEAN member countries to that legal framework as wellas the ASEAN’s role as a regional forum.


Author(s):  
Adebayo Muritala Adegbore ◽  
Akinyosoye Tolulope Omowumi

Survey research design of the correlational type was employed for this study using stratified random sampling to select two hundred and forty-five (245) respondents. The research instrument which was a structured questionnaire was tagged Adoption Factors and Usage Evaluation of Electronic medical record systems System Success. A total of 222 copies research questionnaire were filled and returned. A statistical package for social science application was used in analysing the results of the research using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient for hypotheses one and two, and multiple regression analysis for the hypotheses three and four. The result from the study revealed that there was a positive significant correlation between adoption factors and EMRS systems’ success (r= 0.440) and there was a strong positive correlation between usage evaluation and system success of EMRS in the two healthcare facilities (r= 0.618). More so, findings showed that adoption factors jointly and significantly affect EMRS system success with coefficient of 0.648, and a multiple R square of 0.420. And there was also a relative contribution of adoption factors (β = 0.215) and usage evaluation (0.526) on EMRS success. The study concludes that electronic medical record systems have become a standard for every healthcare facility for improvement in the efficiency and profitability of the organisations. The study therefore recommends that, all healthcare facilities in Nigeria should adopt the electronic medical record systems, and all healthcare providers should be given thorough training on the use of EMRS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-416
Author(s):  
Joyce M. Hansen ◽  
Scott Weiss ◽  
Terra A. Kremer ◽  
Myrelis Aguilar ◽  
Gerald McDonnell

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has challenged healthcare providers in maintaining the supply of critical personal protective equipment, including single-use respirators and surgical masks. Single-use respirators and surgical masks can reduce risks from the inhalation of airborne particles and microbial contamination. The recent high-volume demand for single-use respirators and surgical masks has resulted in many healthcare facilities considering processing to address critical shortages. The dry heat process of 80°C (176°F) for two hours (120 min) has been confirmed to be an appropriate method for single-use respirator and surgical mask processing.


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