Abstract

In this article, a paediatrician responsible for the paediatric hospital ofthe University ofTübingen, discusses the importance of ethical consultations in daily clinical practice. Unlike in the USA, where there are two kinds of institutional ethical advice, Germany's hospitals have only established Ethikkommissionen which deal with research involving human cell material, but no discussion boards for ethical issues relating to normal medical treatment. The author describes the ad hoc consultations in bis hospital in which doctors and nursing staff can discuss those problems, from their own point of view, without either diminishing the physicians 's responsibility or patronizing the patient.