Ethisch overleg op regionaal niveau: ervaringen van het forum voor ethische reflectie van de regio Île-de-France

Abstract

Ethics consultation at a regional level: the experience of the forum for ethical reflection of the Île-de-France region Referring to experiences in healthcare ethics, we seek to better understand and assume our moral and political responsibilities in a democratic society. One of the reference points is ‘Espace éthique AP-PH’, the ethics forum of the public hospital network in Paris. Its creation in 1995 dovetailed with the upheavals of the ‘AIDS years’, in which the patient’s voice increasingly penetrated public life and spurred political mobilisation. In 2014, it was expanded into the Île-de-France region’s forum for ethical reflection. The forum for ethical reflection is a place where the art of dialogue and discussion is elevated to a normative level, which is indispensable for understanding, deliberation and joint endorsement of an ethical approach that implies responsibility. France now has 15 regional forums for ethical reflection that contribute to the development of a genuine ethical culture among healthcare providers and the general public in their region.