Explore the ethical and
legal issues involved in either end-of-life / palliative care or low acuity (treat – nontransport)
cases. These cases involve complex decision making due to situational and
emotional factors and the clinical follow-up that may be required.
Choose a case that you have attended which involves either:
x End-of-life / Palliative care
OR
x Low acuity / Treat – non-transport Decisions
Answer the following questions in relation to the case that you have chosen
1. Briefly outline the case that you have chosen.
o Outline the key features of the case in the introduction.
(5 marks) (250 words)
Answer the following questions
o The following questions target the legal and ethical issues of the case you
have outlined and your critical reflection on how the case was managed.
o Support with reference to literature and evidence.
2. Identify and discuss at least two legal considerations in the case.
o Provide reference to legal documents, guidelines or other articles/texts that
discuss legal issues in regards to non-transport or end-of-life decisions.
(10 Marks) (250 words)
3. Identify and discuss at least two ethical considerations in the case.
o Provide reference to peer reviewed articles that discuss ethical issues in
regards to non-transport, palliative care and end-of-life decisions.
o Refer to the ethical principles of justice, autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence
(15 Marks) (350 words)
4. Reflect on the case and how it was managed. Consider one positive and one
negative aspect of the case and provide rationale for why you considered it
either a positive or negative experience.
Think about:
o how you felt about what occurred,
o was it managed well and why,
o how could it have been improved,
o was the communication between the paramedics and those involved
adequate,
o what resources were available,
o who could have been contacted – included in the decision making
(20 marks) (400 words)
