BMJ SRH editorial highlights role of conscientious objection in securing the rights of patients and SRH professionals

In an editorial published last week in the journal BMJ Sexual and & Reproductive Health (BMJ SRH, formerly The Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care), FSRH’s President Asha Kasliwal and Chief Executive Jane Hatfield discuss the relatively new guidelines for Faculty members whose personal beliefs might impact on their practice in SRH.

Asha Kasliwal and Jane Hatfield recognise that a diversity of views exists among professionals in membership and those who may want to do a Faculty qualification. The new guidance acknowledges this reality and enables healthcare professionals to acquire a Faculty qualification provided they sign up to ‘principles of care’ - and meet the competencies of the qualification - that put the patient’s needs first. The guidance encourages openness by healthcare professionals about personal beliefs that could impact on patients in order to ensure that services can be organised appropriately.

To read the BMJ SRH editorial, log in onto MyFSRH and click on My Journal. The new conscientious objection guidance can be downloaded here. You can also read a blog by Jane Hatfield on the new guidance here.