Join us! Legal and Ethical Policy Unit

An opportunity has arisen for new clinical members to join the FICM Legal and Ethical Policy Unit (LEPU).  

COMMITTEE AIMS & OBJECTIVES

LEPU was founded as an expert panel to advise the FICM on legal and ethical matters. It is comprised of legal professionals from all four UK home nations and ICM clinicians with medicolegal expertise. The Unit falls under the remit of the FICM Professional Affairs and Safety Committee (FICMPAS) but acts autonomously. Its main aims are to identify, review, analyse and act upon legal and ethical matters relevant to the specialty. This includes, but is not limited to: 

• responding to consultations regarding legal issues, on behalf of the FICM Board
• involvement in submissions to the Courts on behalf of the organisation, if the matter is felt to have wider connotations for ICM
• producing professional guidance, educational material and policy documents (e.g. the Midnight Law series)
• working with other stakeholders to identify medicolegal and ethical issues and devise collaborative policies that support clinical staff working in ICM
• producing publications for journals/newsletters. 

The Unit will not provide formal legal advice to specific individuals, or organisations, or provide expert witnesses. Legal interventions are limited to those where a case has wider ramifications for the specialty and will be at the discretion of the FICM Board.

Confidentiality
Members of the Committee should observe total confidentiality with respect to any discussions or papers considered confidential or sensitive, except where disclosure has been formally permitted.

THE ROLE & YOU

Terms of Office
The initial term of office is three years, with a review after one year. Further terms of office may be granted at the discretion of the LEPU Chair, PAS Chair and the FICM Executive. Inactive members of the group may be required to step down at any point during their term of office. 

Person Specification
The positions are open to any medical professional who has an affiliation with FICM, provided they have relevant medicolegal expertise: Those eligible must meet the following essential criteria:

• Demonstrable knowledge of medical law; either by postgraduate qualification or significant medicolegal experience
• Evidence of ongoing CPD activities in medical law and ethics
• Current intensive care experience
• Affiliation with the FICM and be in good standing
• Must be active and quick to respond to emails
• Must be able to meet deadlines in a short timeframe
• Must be able to produce submissions in a clear and concise manner 

Responsibilities
As a member of LEPU you will be expected to: 

• Play an active role in the group; read all papers and emails relevant to the work of the group.
• Stay up to date with medico-legal developments, particularly in relation to intensive care.
• Attend all meetings and take an active part in discussions.
• Take on projects, workstreams and contribute to any written submissions, articles, guidelines etc as required.
• Represent the Unit, and consequently the FICM, at meetings related to legal and ethical issues. 

Benefits
As a member of LEPU you will have the opportunity to:

• Contribute to and influence FICM projects, policies and strategy.
• Obtain CPD and/or support for appraisal and revalidation.
• Support FICM in its work to develop educational and professional guidance, maintain high standards of practice, and improve patient care.
• Gain additional medicolegal experience and work collaboratively with legal professional members of the committee.
• Help advocate for intensive care medicine on the national stage.
• Gain committee experience and work with other stakeholders.

Support
On beginning your appointment you will be supported by the Chair and other group members. LEPU, like all Faculty groups, is a positive and open work environment and the FICM Secretariat will be on hand to support you as you join and with subsequent workflow. This includes learning how to undertake tasks with which you are not already familiar.

Meetings
The Unit holds two pre-arranged meetings per year (usually in May and November); these are virtual meetings and last approximately two hours. There will also be ad-hoc meetings as required should an urgent issue arise between arranged dates. Most of the Unit’s work is conducted via email and is often under a strict timeframe; it is imperative that appointed candidates are active on email. Members may not send delegates to attend in their place. 

Disclosure of interest
All members should disclose to the Chair any relevant conflicting interest of any kind (financial or otherwise) arising in relation to any item on the agenda. 

Meeting arrangements 

• Copies of the agenda and accompanying papers will be sent to members in advance.
• Members can request the Chair to add items to the agenda in advance of the meeting.
• All members are encouraged to feel able to speak freely and contribute to the discussions. 

TO APPLY

Please submit a short CV and complete the application form appended below.  These will be shared with the appointment panel who will review applications and reach a consensus on those appointed. Please send to contact@ficm.ac.uk by 5pm on Monday 11 August. 

We welcome and actively seek to recruit people regardless of race, religion, ethnic origin, disability, age, gender and sexual orientation.

It is recommended that potential Committee Members discuss their appointment with hospital colleagues, supervisors and senior management, to ensure they can dedicate the appropriate time to the role.

CONTACT

If you have any questions or would like an informal chat about the role, email us at contact@ficm.ac.uk and we will get right back to you.