Ethics surrounding the medical evacuation of catastrophically injured individuals from an operational theatre of war.

Although prolonging life is usually in the best interests of patients, the British Medical Association states that it is not appropriate to prolong life with no regard to its quality. Medical advances both on the battlefield and within the field hospitals have resulted in the unexpected survival of a number of British personnel, and in some cases, soldiers are being repatriated with injuries categorised as 'catastrophic'. This paper considers medical ethics based on the Beauchamp and Childress Four Principles framework with regard to whether catastrophically injured individuals should be repatriated without any prior advanced directive and without evaluation of future quality of life. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/