AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/justice

Justice

Justice is the duty to treat patients fairly and to share limited resources fairly.

Updated 12 October 2026 (1 minute read)

Summary

  • The NHS cannot fund everything, so someone has to decide which treatments are paid for and who is treated first.
  • Fair treatment means the same standard of care whatever a patient's age, ethnicity, wealth or lifestyle.
  • It also covers acting within the law and being held to account when things go wrong.

Interview questions

  • One liver is available and two patients need it. How should the choice be made?
  • Should the NHS pay for treatment of conditions caused by lifestyle?
  • Is it fair that waiting times differ depending on where you live?

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Cases that turn on it

Birthmarks mistaken for bruises Justice Most Asian and Black babies are born with blue grey birthmarks that can look like bruises. In 2024 a mother in Hampshire was held overnight by police after her son's were taken as a sign of abuse. Edenfield Centre abuse scandal Justice The Edenfield Centre is a secure mental health unit in Manchester whose patients are not free to leave. In 2022 a reporter working there undercover filmed staff mocking and mistreating them. Infected blood scandal Justice More than 30,000 NHS patients caught HIV or hepatitis C from their treatment in the 1970s and 1980s. A public inquiry reported in 2024, compensation payments began that December, and no one has been prosecuted. Lucy Letby and the Thirlwall Inquiry Justice Doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital warned managers about a nurse after a run of unexplained baby deaths. Managers were slow to call the police and told the doctors to apologise to her. The public inquiry into what went wrong reported in September 2026. Martha's Rule and patient safety Justice Martha Mills died of sepsis at 13 after her parents' worries were not acted on. Every acute hospital in England now has to offer the rule named after her, and it has been used more than 19,000 times. Synnovis NHS cyber attack Justice In June 2024 criminals locked the computer systems of the lab that runs blood tests for two of London's biggest hospital trusts. More than 10,000 appointments were postponed, and a long wait for a blood test result contributed to one patient's death.

More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.