Ethical Issues and Decision Making in Health & Social Care Project

This assignment solution delves into various ethical issues encountered in healthcare settings. It identifies key challenges such as balancing care quality with efficiency, improving accessibility, and addressing end-of-life issues. The solution discusses ethical dilemmas surrounding euthanasia, focusing on religious and legal perspectives, and examines how non-medical ICT implants can threaten privacy and human dignity. Furthermore, it defines human embryonic stem cell research and explores its justification through the lenses of deontology and utilitarianism, highlighting the contrasting viewpoints on the ethical implications of this research. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and other solved assignments.

ASSESSMENT AND INTERNAL VERIFICATION FRONT SHEET (Individual
Criteria)
(Note : This version is to be used for an project brief issued to students via Classter)
Unit Number & Title Ethical Issues and
Decision Making
Project Number, Title / Type Take Home Project 3
Student
Name ID Number Class /
Group 11
Assessment Criteria Maximum Mark
Criteria: K&U 4.1 Be able to show you understand and list the ethical issues related to health and social care 5
Criteria: A&A 4.2 Explain the ethical issues around a topic 7
Criteria: A&A 3.4 Justify your choice of a particular ethical course 7
Criteria: S&E 4.3 Evaluate different ethical theories 10
Criteria: K&U 3.3 Show that you are able to explain how you choose between different ethical possibilities 5
Total Mark 34
Notes to Students:
 This project brief has been approved and released by the Internal Verifier through Classter.
 Assessment marks and feedback by the lecturer will be available online via Classter (Http://mcast.classter.com)
following release by the Internal Verifier
 Students submitting their project on Moodle/Unicheck will be requested to confirm online the following
statements:
Student’s declaration prior to handing-in of project
 I certify that the work submitted for this project is my own and that I have read and understood the
respective Plagiarism Policy
Student’s declaration on assessment special arrangements
 I certify that adequate support was given to me during the project through the Institute
and/or the Inclusive Education Unit.
 I declare that I refused the special support offered by the
Institute.

THA 3
All three (3) questions need to be answered.
The maximum marks allocated per question can be found at the end of each question.
Question 1 of 3
Mention 5 ethical issues which you can encounter in any health-care setting.
(5 marks)
Five issues that occur in any health-care settings and are more likely to be encountered
include, Issues in balancing the quality and efficiency of care, improving care accessibility,
building and sustaining an effective health-care workforce of future, addressing the issues of
end life and allocating limited medication and the donor organs. Balancing care quality and
efficiency within the health-care system is difficult task as right values are the driving force
instead of efficiency in care quality. The ongoing issue of care accessibility of basic medical
care to everyone remains a concern. Lack of access is the ethical issue which faces inequality,
discrimination and stigmatisation in healthcare system. High number of healthcare
workforces are required for managing the chronic illnesses and coordinating with services.
Addressing the end of life issues grow with population age. The decision making processes
and financing issues affect the people. Medication shortages occur due to absence of enough
economic incentive manufacturers. Drug shortages occur due to lack of profit gain from
them. The lack of donors and lack of medications account for one of the major ethical issue in
healthcare.
Question 2 of 3
In this two-part question you are expected to answer questions directly related to ethical
issues.
(14 marks)
a) Mention and briefly discuss two ethical issues which arise when discussing
euthanasia.
(Maximum marks: 7)
The ethical issues that arise in euthanasia are, religious components and legal
components. The religious components believes that life is the gift of god and only
the god can decide when to end it. No human should take account for deciding the
faith of someone else's life. The legal components say that physician's role and
responsibilities occur as a healer whereas the societal risk that may arise with
euthanasia will impact the overall health care.

b) Briefly discuss how non-medical ICT implants can lead to threats to privacy and
human dignity.
(Maximum marks: 7)
Non medical ICT implants in human body encounters for being a threat to human dignity and
privacy. ICT implants can appear as ethical trouble free such as pacemakers but more
implants implantation require digital networking which raises the question of misusing.
Social surveillance and manipulation accounts for misuses. Devices that need implantation
within brain can develop certain diseases. Ethical notion of ICT implants for enhancement of
physical and mental state should be based on the requirement rather than on economical
resources.
Question 3 of 3
Define what you understand by the term human embryonic stem cell research, and why
it is conducted. Discuss the justification of human embryonic stem cell research based
on ideas from deontology and utilitarianism (focusing on consequentialism).
(15 marks)
Human embryonic stem cell research is the study of stem cells and their development into
specific types of cells, like heart cells. Stem cells of embryo can grow into specialize cells of
different types. The human embryonic stem cell research is conducted for enhancing the
current medical status of care. The research is beneficial in understanding and curing some
untreatable diseases like Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury and other conditions.
Consequentialism focus on rightness of act, it says the right act have the best consequences.
Deontology theory of ethics says focus on adherence of an act in following the legislations,
embryonic stem cell research as per the views of deontology is ethnically wrong as it have
destructive effect over the human life. Whereas, utilitarianism theory of ethics consider the
embryonic stem cell research to be a rightful act as it can prove as the beneficial procedure in
providing cure to untreatable diseases. Both the theories believes the act's right and
wrongness on the basis of its outcome in two ways.