Ten years ago, the National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics (ETENE) published a report entitled Equity and human dignity in health care in Finland. The purpose of the publication was to stimulate an open public debate, to which we invite all those involved in healthcare, decision-makers, the media and the general public. The opinions voiced back then remain topical today; changes in the operating environment have not rendered them obsolete. Since then, ETENE has published reports and statements on dozens of topics, seeking to provide further material for in-depth debate. These documents and plenty of other material are available in digital form to all Internet users. There is thus no shortage of things to discuss.

The purpose of the present publication is to extend the consideration of ethics to social services in addition to health care: what is right and what is good when we consider human individuals in the entire field of social welfare and health care? This discussion may yield new insights or confirm our belief that our everyday routines have not become dissociated from their ethical foundations. Ethics expertise can be promoted in many different ways.

The groundwork for this publication was done by a working group consisting of Kari Eskola, M.D., Jaakko Heinimäki, M.Theol., Markku Lehto D.Sc.(Pol.), Irma Pahlman, L.D., Aira Pihlainen, Ph.D., Tarja Pösö, Ph.D., Raimo Sulkava, M.D. and Päivi Topo, Ph.D. Aira Pihlainen and Jaakko Heinimäki had principal responsibility for preparing recommendations in the working group. The ethical guidelines were written up by Markku Lehto. Practical examples were compiled by Kari Eskola. The working group engaged in active dialogue and correspondence, as the contents of the publication show. The text was finalised after a thorough revision at the ETENE summer seminar. Professor Veikko Launis also kindly provided comments on the text.