Clinical ethics committee

Clinical ethics committee
The clinical ethics committee (CEC) at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust considers the ethical aspects of clinical care within the Trust. It comprises volunteers from many specialties and disciplines, and of varying experience.

Role of the CEC
The CEC discusses general ethical issues and those concerning individual patients, as well as reviewing proposals to alter or create policies. Examples of ethical issues include:
• The withdrawing and withholding of treatment from patients who are dying
• The management of patients who have written advanced directives
• The management of patients who are unable to give or withhold consent

The CEC also has an important and growing role in education throughout the Trust, within Imperial College London, and in a wider setting.

The CEC rarely states the 'right thing' to do, but offers a confidential opportunity for discussion and a structured approach to decision-making. Its multidisciplinary structure makes it approachable to all staff.

Contacting the CEC
The chair of the CEC is Mr Vassilios Papalois, and the deputy chair is Dr Felicity Plaat. If you would like advice on an ethical issue, you can ask for Mr Papalois' opinion through the pink card system. If the situation is urgent, please contact Mr Papalois directly, or ask the CEC secretary, Miss Tania Colyer, to contact another member of the committee.

• Vassilios Papalois, consultant transplant surgeon
Telephone: 020 3313 5165/5212 (Hammersmith Hospital)
Email: vassilios.papalois@imperial.nhs.uk

• Dr Felicity Plaat, consultant anaesthetist
Telephone: 020 3313 3991 (Hammersmith Hospital)

• Tania Colyer, CEC secretary
Telephone: 020 3312 7708 (St Mary's Hospital)
Email : tania.colyer@imperial.nhs.uk

Useful documents
For more information about the CEC, read the terms of reference. For basic advice about dealing with ethical issues, read ethical problems in clinical practice or four principles to help decide which actions are morally preferable.

Members of the CEC
Members of the CEC include medical specialists from the Trust and other organisations, plus lay members.

Mr Vassilios Papalois, chairman of the committee and consultant transplant surgeon
Mr Papalois is a consultant transplant and general surgeon at Hammersmith Hospital. He is vice-chairman of the St Mary’s Research Ethics Committee and member of the British Transplantation Society ethics committee.  He is chairman of the division of transplantation of the European Board of Surgery and his research interests include the ethics of live donor kidney transplantation and stem cell research.
Telephone: 020 331 35165 (PA) 

Dr Felicity Plaat, Vice-chair and consultant anaesthetist
Dr Felicity Plaat is a consultant anaesthetist at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea and Hammersmith hospitals. She developed an interest in ethical aspects of clinical practice from working in obstetric anaesthesia and from medico-legal work. She was involved with the introduction of the CEC to Hammersmith and Charing Cross hospitals.
Telephone: 020 3313 3991(Hammersmith Hospital) 

Dr Andrew Hartle, consultant anaesthetist
Dr Andrew Hartle is a consultant anaesthetist at St Mary’s Hospital. He joined the CEC in 2002 and was chairman between 2004 and 2009. He is a council member of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.
Telephone: 020 331 26426 (PA)
Pager: 08700 555 500, #837503

Tania Colyer, secretary to the committee
Telephone:  020 3312 7708 (St Mary's Hospital)

Victoria Baker, intensive trauma unit nurse
Vicki Baker works at St Mary’s Hospital as a senior sister on the adult intensive care unit. Vicki has been a member of the CEC since 2005. Vicki regularly undertakes teaching of junior nursing staff on their study days related to medical ethics, recently providing teaching around the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Father Nigel Griffin, senior Catholic chaplain
Father Nigel Griffin is senior Catholic chaplain at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Recently, he was awarded an MA (with distinction) in bioethics by Surrey University and he is an associate member of the International Association of Catholic Bioethicists.
Telephone: Charing Cross 11042 (voicemail)
Bleep: 020 3313 5253 (Hammersmith Hospital)

Dr Vicky Hird, associate specialist gynaecologist
Mrs Vicky Hird is the Associate Specialist in Gynaecological Oncology. She has worked at the trust since 1986 and has been a member of the CEC since 2002 after completing a master’s degree in Medical Ethics and Law. Her particular interests are informed consent for treatment and palliative care issues.
Telephone: 020 3313 1957 (Hammersmith Hospital)

Carolyn Johnston, lecturer in medical law, Kingston University
Carolyn Johnston is an adviser in medical law and ethics at King’s College London school of medicine and senior lecturer at Kingston University. She is also part-time joint project manager and assistant to the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME)'s medical ethics and law education in UK medical schools project. She has recently coauthored 100 Cases in Clinical Ethics and Law (Johnston and Bradbury, Hodder Arnold, 2008).
Telephone: 020 7848 4151/6994
Fax: 020 7848 4102

Angela Burden, Macmillan palliative care clinical nurse specialist (CNS)
Angela Burden has worked at the Trust for over three years as palliative care CNS, based at the Charing Cross site. She is a Macmillan post-holder. Angela has recently joined the CEC and has a particular interest in ethical issues around end-of-life care. She teaches on the bi-annual palliative care course at the Trust (for nurses and therapists) and promotes palliative care expertise to medical colleagues, across all specialties. 

Angela is undertaking the King’s College London MSc in palliative care, part-time over two years.

Jen McDermott, lead live donor transplant coordinator and clinical nurse specialist
Jen works for the West London Renal Transplant Centre. Her background is in renal research, clinical transplantation and pre-dialysis. She has an MA in medical ethics and law from Keele University and has a keen interest in the ethical issues surrounding organ donation.
Telephone: 020 3312 1998 (St Mary's Hospital)
Bleep: 4000
Pager: 08700 555500

Dr Alison Mears, consultant in GUM/HIV and sexual medicine
Dr Mears joined Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust at the end of November 2007. She is a consultant in GUM, HIV and sexual medicine, based at the Jefferiss wing at St Mary’s Hospital. She is also the training programme director for specialist trainees in GUM/HIV based at the Trust and a tutor on the undergraduate ethics teaching programme at Imperial College London. She has been a member of the CEC since March 2008.
Telephone:  020 3312 6754 (St Mary's Hospital)
Email: alison.mears@imperial.nhs.uk

Dr David Mitchell, medical director
Dr Mitchell qualified in medicine from Cambridge University and the Middlesex Hospital and went on to train in general and respiratory medicine at the Middlesex, Hammersmith, University College, the London Chest and the Royal Brompton hospitals. He was then appointed as senior lecturer and honorary consultant in respiratory and general medicine to St Mary's Hospital Medical School and later, switched to the NHS. He served as clinical director for medicine before being appointed as medical director to the Trust.

Roy Oliver, lay member
Roy Oliver is one of the patient representatives on the CEC. He joined the committee in 2006. He has been taken an interest in patient and public involvement in health since he had a mitral valve replacement at St Mary’s Hospital in 2000, first with the heart support group and then as a member of the public and patient involvement in health forum. As a member of the CEC, he contributes the patient's view as he sees it and ensures that patients are being involved in clinical decisions about their treatment.

Dr Claire Pulford, consultant physician, care of the elderly
Dr Claire Pulford is a consultant physician based at St Mary's Hospital.
Telephone: 020 3312 1077 (St Mary's Hospital)
Email: claire.pulford@imperial.nhs.uk

Helen Rambaut, lay member
Helen Rambaut is an investment manager. Diagnosed with kidney failure in 1979, she needed dialysis in 2004. In 2007 she received a kidney transplant from a living donor. For 30 years she has been a patient under the care of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Brenda Rice, live donor transplant coordinator and clinical nurse specialist
Brenda works for the West London Renal Transplant Centre. Her background has mainly focused on renal care ranging from dialysis to transplantation. Brenda has a keen interest in the ethical issues around live donation, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the day-to-day ethical issues that nurses need to consider and understand. 
Telephone: 020 3312 2239

Amanda Venters, transplant recipient
Amanda Venters is a chartered accountant. Having been diagnosed with renal failure in 1995, Amanda has been a patient at all three major hospitals of the Trust (six years on peritoneal dialysis (PD), recipient of two kidney transplants). Amanda has chaired the PD patient staff forum of the West London Renal and Transplant Centre (WLRTC) for the last three years and is currently the patient representative on the Renal Association’s PD working party. She has been a member of the CEC since March 2008. 

Brian P Pender, head of security
Brian Pender is the Head of Security and an Accredited Security Management Specialist for Imperial College Healthcare 
NHS Trust
Telephone: 020 3313 5973 (Hammersmith Hospital)

Ann Jacklin, head of pharmacy 
Ann Jacklin is the head of pharmacy across all three major sites - Hammersmith, Charing Cross and St Mary's Hospital.
Telephone: 020 3313 4710 (Hammersmith Hospital)

Aaron Lee, lay member
Aaron Lee is a lay member and currently volunteers in the accident and emergency department of Charing Cross hospital and will be volunteering in outpatient chemotherapy at Hammersmith Hospital.