Welcome to Suzanne Doyle Guilloud, CHLS Senior Research Associate in Healthcare Law

Suzanne Doyle Guilloud, CHLS Senior Research Associate in Healthcare Law

Press release issued: 3 December 2018

The Law School and the Centre for Health, Law, and Society are delighted to welcome Suzanne Doyle Guilloud, Senior Research Associate in Healthcare Law on the project 'Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law' (BABEL), a recently launched five-year study and collaboration between academics in the Centre for Ethics in Medicine and the Centre for Health, Law and Society.

In February 2018 the University of Bristol was awarded a major Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award for a cross-disciplinary project entitled ‘Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law' (BABEL).

The project is a collaboration between academics in the Centre for Ethics in Medicine and the Centre for Health, Law and Society (CHLS), investigating how the “best interests” of patients who are unable to make decisions for themselves because they lack mental capacity or competence should be understood. The patients include children and adults, including those with learning disabilities, dementia or prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Suzanne Doyle Guilloud will be joining the CHLS as Senior Research Associate in Healthcare Law on BABEL, having previously worked at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway in Ireland as well as having practiced as a barrister at the Bar of Ireland.

Suzanne’s doctoral thesis undertook a critical analysis of the right to liberty of persons with psychosocial disabilities under European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Commenting on collaborating on BABEL, Suzanne said:

"I'm delighted to be joining the Centre for Health, Law, and Society which is engaging in such important interdisciplinary work on issues of law and governance in the areas of health and well-being. I'm looking forward to contributing to the Centre's cross-sectoral engagement which ensures that its research informs law reform and policy development.

I'm particularly excited to work with our colleagues at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine on Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law (BABEL). This Wellcome Trust funded project interrogates how the ‘best interests’ standard is interpreted and applied in medico-legal decision-making.

The guidance and recommendations which will emerge from the findings of this research have the potential to shape the normative model in this area as well as provoking important debates on challenging ethico-legal questions which span the lifecourse."

Further information

For more information about Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law visit the BABEL project website.

The Centre for Ethics in Medicine is an interdisciplinary centre for enquiry, education and engagement in healthcare ethics and law, based in Bristol Medical School. The Centre’s research spans everyday ethical dilemmas in healthcare, through to cutting-edge developments in science, law and policy, and is united in its focus on impactful and practically oriented research that engages directly with public and professional stakeholders.

The Centre for Health, Law, and Society (CHLS) promotes cross-disciplinary and cross-sector perspectives on the impacts of law and governance on physical, mental and social wellbeing. Based within the University of Bristol Law School, the CHLS comprises leading scholars whose work focuses on wide-ranging practical areas from within and far beyond health care systems, including clinical medicine, reproductive care, mental health, social care, and public and global health..