Clinical ethics in paediatric nursing: 4 Holding children for clinical procedures: necessary or not?

In any paediatric hospital on any given day children are held in order to perform clinical procedures such as taking bloods or X-rays or putting in an intravenous line for fluids. This is done for the safety of all involved and to enable clinically necessary interventions to be undertaken. However, we know that holding children against their will can cause both short and long term harm. We discuss these competing ethical considerations and offer practical strategies to ensure that we approach paediatric procedures in an ethically mindful way. Host: Prof John Massie, Children’s Bioethics Centre, RCH. Guests: Dr Jenny O’Neill, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Bioethics, RCH, Ms Emily Cull, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Comfort Kids, RCH, and Ms Catherine Wood, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Complex Care.