Military Medical Ethics – Scenario Collection

Use of close circuit television (CCTV) to monitor patients in an infectious disease setting

Page ID: 86
Last updated: 04 Aug, 2020
Page ID: 86
Last updated: 04 Aug, 2020
Revision: 3
Comments: 0

A treatment unit is being set up as part of a humanitarian effort to combat an outbreak of a severe and infectious virus in a low-income country. The affected country is hot and humid. Staff are only able to work for a couple of hours in personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the extreme heat and humidity as there is no possibility of effective air conditioning. It is possible for cameras to be fixed in the treatment areas of those affected by, or suspected of having, the virus. This would enable staff to monitor patients without having to don PPE and be exposed to risk by entering the "red zone" (the area where there is risk of infection). Fixing cameras would enable patients to be monitored remotely.

The feed from the cameras could be recorded. This would enable staff to decide how many personnel to send in to a patient needing care (e.g. if the patient collapses and falls, it would be possible to replay the tape to see whether they hit their head or if a patient is agitated). A potential longer term use for the recordings would be re-tracing the movements of anyone working in the Unit who succumbs to infection. This could potentially improve infection control routines and also assist training back in the sponsoring nation'straining facility. The recording of patients could, however, be regarded as an intrusion of privacy and a failure to respect dignity. The use of recorded data for purposes other than patient care might also be regarded as a misuse of personal data.

Source: This scenario is taken from material produced by the research project "Military healthcare professionals' experiences of ethical challenges whilst on Ebola humanitarian deployment (Sierra Leone)". The project was funded by the UK ESRC and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (Academic & Research).
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Questions for the discussion of this scenario

Can the use of CCTV be justified? If so, under what circumstances?
What kind of precautions should you follow when using CCTV?

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Page ID: 86
Last updated: 04 Aug, 2020
Revision: 3
Comments: 0
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