PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Katherine A Clay
AU  - J D Henning
AU  - S Horne
TI  - Op GRITROCK ethics; the way of things to come?
AID  - 10.1136/jramc-2015-000617
DP  - 2016 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps
PG  - 150--155
VI  - 162
IP  - 3
4099  - http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/162/3/150.short
4100  - http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/162/3/150.full
SO  - J R Army Med Corps2016 Jun 01; 162
AB  - The Defence Medical Services (DMS) deployed on Op GRITROCK to Sierra Leone in support of the Ebola outbreak. This operation was the first large-scale DMS deployment since operations in Afghanistan ceased at the end of 2014. This type of operation revealed a number of ethical issues and challenges that the DMS had not faced for a long time. The ethical issues identified during the deployment are discussed in this article using the principalism approach of Beauchamp and Childress. Many of these issues were not identified prior to deployment, and troops were not adequately prepared. The article will outline the difficulties of using the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice during a public health emergency, and conclude with recommendations for ethical considerations that should be identified and mitigated against for future deployments to a public health emergency.