Procedural Values for Decision-Making in a Pandemic
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 27 July 2020
- Last updated on: 24 September 2020
On Thursday 2 July the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) approved the guidance document entitled “Procedural Values for Decision-Making in a Pandemic”.
This paper is a companion piece to the broader ‘Ethical Framework for Decision-Making in a Pandemic’, published 27 March 2020, and specifically looks at how the procedural values contained in the Framework should be applied when making decisions in the context of a pandemic. The paper is written to encompass all kinds of decision-making, including but not limited to clinical decisions.
It recognises that there may be several ethically defensible solutions to a given dilemma, and there can be reasonable disagreements on the basis of empirical or normative grounds. This emphasises the need for a robust and fair decision-making process which is supported by the procedural values.
The guidance sets out some practical tools to aid decision makers in applying the procedural values.
