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When there is a large-scale emergency, such as this year’s SARS outbreak, the public wants a quick and efficient response from the health care system and individual health facilities.
But this kind of response can occur only if legal and ethical issues have been considered in advance, so that health care providers can focus on offering optimal care to their patients and optimal protection to their staff and the general public.
Right: Coronavirus causing SARS
York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto have organized a program to address these legal issues. The one-day accredited course, which is open to the public by registration, is on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 8:15am to 5pm at Osgoode Hall Law School’s Professional Development Centre, 1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2602, Toronto.
Entitled Medical Emergencies and the Law: SARS, Global Epidemics and Other Disasters, the course promises to be candid, critical and multidisciplinary, delving into the core of emergency management and its ensuing legal liability.
Left: Patrick Monahan, dean of Osgoode Hall Law School
Some of the many prominent professionals who will present their diverse perspectives, technical and legal expertise and hands-on experience are: Dr. James Young, Ontario’s chief coroner; Dr. Colin D’Cunha, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health and long-term care and commissioner of public health; Dr. C. David Naylor, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Chair of the National Advisory Committee on SARS & Public Health; Dr. Ron St. John, director general of the Centre for Emergency Preparedness & Response, Health Canada; and Patrick Monahan, dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.
Highlights of the day include discussions on the following.
- The containment of SARS and how it has changed emergency preparedness
- Legal and ethical issues facing health professionals and health facilities
- How to successfully create and implement disaster plans
- Occupational health and safety issues arising during a crisis
Complete course and registration information is available online at www.law.yorku.ca/pdp/cle or by calling 416-597-9724 or 1-888-923-3394.
Osgoode Hall Law School’s Professional Development Program is an accredited New York State Continuing Legal Education provider. In conjunction with Ontario’s Advocates’ Society, it recently won an award for outstanding achievement from the International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA).