The Management of Health Services of the Health Area of Lanzarote held an event on September 30 at the Cabildo of Lanzarote in which it presented the Assistance Ethics Committee, an autonomous body of a consultative nature that will try to advise and guide actions in health matters in addition to facilitating the resolution of ethical conflicts that may arise during health care, while guiding users, professionals and management teams of the health area centers.
Carmen Delia Medina Castellano, professor at the University School of the ULPGC and professor of Bioethics and Biolaw, was present at the event, where she spoke about the usefulness of this corporation. For his part, José Luis Aparicio, manager of the Health Services of Lanzarote, pointed out that the newly created body improves the quality of health care since it will provide answers to several of the needs raised by users and professionals in the health field.
The new advisory body, which will be headed by the geriatrician Elisa Corujo, will have 17 professionals from the health, social and legal fields trained in bioethics. This is a team with a multidisciplinary approach that aims to respond to the new challenges of health ethics and the pluralism of social values.
The accreditation of the Lanzarote Ethics Committee by the Ministry of Health occurs after the initiative of its promoter group, initiated years ago by the late Dr. Fernando Conde, and is consolidated after the certification of the Molina Orosa as a University Hospital.
Since then, a large group of workers has promoted continuous training in bioethics for the staff of the health area, collaborating in the preparation of action protocols for situations in which ethical conflicts may arise, trying to promote a care environment as humane as possible that ensures respect for the dignity and values of the people involved, whether patients, family members or professionals.
In this sense, Elisa Corujo explained during the presentation ceremony that in these years the Ethics Committee has dealt with various issues, including decisions related to advanced dementia, cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers, the right of people at the end of life, the Anticipated Statements of Will, the adaptation of therapeutic effort, palliative sedation or the approach to grief.
In addition, she stressed the Committee's vocation for training and advising professionals in the Health Area of Lanzarote on all these matters.
