On the edge: end of life and related dilemmas in clinical ethics
Medical professionals and clinical ethics committees have long experience and familiarity with questions relating to end of life care - for example, decisions about life sustaining treatment or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. But some cases venture into unfamiliar terrain. How should professionals respond to patients (with or without terminal illness) who have decided to voluntarily stop eating and drinking? Is anaesthesia an ethical option at the end of life for patients who do not wish to suffer? Is it permissible to provide palliative care for patients with treatment resistant mental illness? What questions will clinical ethics committees have to contemplate if assisted suicide becomes lawful in different parts of the UK?
Drawing on expert speakers from UK, Netherlands and US, UKCEN’s 2025 conference, will provide an opportunity for health professionals and clinical ethics committee members to explore these and related questions.
Venue
Ship Street Centre, Jesus College, Ship Street, Oxford (map)
Talks
Morning – cutting edge questions at the end of life
A. Controversial options at the end of life [30 min talks plus 15 mins questions] – Chair Dr Helen Turnham
1. Thaddeus Pope (Mitchell Hamline) - Voluntary Stopping of Eating and drinking
2. Dominic Wilkinson (Oxford) – Terminal Anaesthesia
B. Assisted Dying – (Chair: R Huxtable) [30 min talks, 30 min panel]
3. Prof Imogen Goold – legal update – plus what is the role assisted dying in the UK
4. Prof Eduard Verhagen (Groningen Netherlands) – what is the role of ethics committees in assisted dying – experience from the Netherlands
Panel discussion
Afternoon
C. Eating disorders in extremis (Chair – D Wilkinson)
Mini-plenaries and panel (10-15 minute talks, followed by 30 minute panel discussion)
5. Psychiatrist Dr Niki Kern NHS England National Lead for working group on second opinions in long-standing ED
6. Philosopher: Wayne Martin (Essex)
7. Gastroenterologist/physician: Dr Tim Ambrose (Oxford)
8. Palliative care: Victoria Bradley (Oxford)
9. Legal: Alex Ruck Keene (London)
10. Ethics: Jacinta Tan, Adaeze Bradshaw (Oxford)
11. Live ethics discussion – members of OUH and Oxford Health ethics committees, plus special guests
Downloadable full programme (PDF).
Delegate Fees
Unless you qualify for a free place or bursary support (see below), fees are set at individual rates, as follows:
Prices - in person
Full registration £160 | Concession £120* | Student £60
NB Clinical Ethics Committees that have paid their 2024-25 UKCEN subscription are eligible for a free place.
* The concessionary rate applies to nurses and allied health professionals, lay members of Clinical Ethics Committees, and members of the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME).
There will be an optional dinner for workshop/conference attendees on the evening of 12th June - details to follow
What funding is available to support attendance?
Support is also available to cover the costs of attending this conference:
There will be a limited number of bursaries available from UKCEN - details to be available in early 2025
IME student bursaries: Students can apply to the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) for funding to support their attendance at the conference. Information on how to apply can be found here.
Clinical Ethics Committee’s who are currently paid-up subscribing members of UKCEN are entitled to one free conference place per committee. The chair of the committee should email contact@ime-uk.org with the name of the committee member who is planning to take up that free place. Then: (1) register, at the bottom of this page; (2) once you have completed the registration process, you will be transferred to the Sagepay page where payment would ordinarily be taken – please close down your browser at this point; (3) all registration information will be retained. Please note that you will not receive an automatic response to your booking, but we will check the information is correct and confirm your booking/details in due course.
Book your Conference place here
