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The Healthcare Ethics Committee (Comitè d'Ètica Assistencial - CEA) of the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a consultative and interdisciplinary body that aims to help resolve ethical problems that may arise in the field of healthcare.
SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital created the CEA in November 1981, being the first healthcare ethics committee of the Spanish state. In 1995 it was accredited by the Government of Catalonia.
Functions of the CEA
The CEA helps to reflect on the decisions, actions and attitudes in the field of health sciences, considering, together with scientific criteria, the ethical aspects, and ensuring fidelity to the founding ethos of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God.
- Advisory function
To advise in the resolution of clinical cases that arise in healthcare practice and that present conflicts of values to the professionals, the patient and the family. - Normative function
To prepare guidelines, recommendations or protocols for how to act in situations that, due to their frequency, may be of potential conflict because of the underlying ethical dilemma. - Educational function
To promote initiatives for training, information and awareness of ethical problems and issues.
CEA Principles
The CEA acts in accordance with the principles contained in the Letter of Identity of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God and the Ethical Code of the Province of Aragón-San Rafael.
Characteristic elements of this committee are respect for freedom of conscience, interdisciplinary dialogue, the formation of an ethical interpretation and reasoned information regarding the standards of the Hospital for all its members and for the patients who request it.
Our mission
“The Healthcare Ethics Committee helps to find the best treatment option for patients in case of ethical conflict, and offers a space for reflection among specialists from different disciplines, something especially relevant to the complexity of clinical practice and technological evolution.”
“The Healthcare Ethics Committee is a guarantee of quality in making moral decisions and a solid support for health professionals, as well as for patients and their families.”
“When we have no established protocol to follow, it is time to consult the centre's Healthcare Ethics Committee to assess options from the ethical point of view and work with the family to find the best follow-up guidelines for the hospitalized child.”