Abstract:
We thank Singh and Moodley for their detailed commentary on the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA) guidelines on ‘Allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency in South Africa’ (hereinafter ‘CCSSA 2020’). Their article highlights the lack of a uniform blueprint for triage guidelines across the world. This lack is driven, to a large extent, by clinical ethical decision-making that is confounded by, inter alia, varying clinical experience, diverse personal values, differing legal frameworks, a multitude of guidelines from professional organisations, and unique social contexts. Consequently, guidelines may differ between organisations and between countries.
