Doctors shouldn’t take “heroic or sacrificial” actions in the coronavirus crisis that would then risk putting themselves out of service to help other patients, according to an ethical framework developed for Australian clinicians.

Medical professionals have turned to Sydney Health Ethics, within the University of Sydney, for guidance in the event of having to make tough decisions about resources, such as ventilators, in the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a document released on Friday, doctors are advised that they are valuable resources and are not to work in circumstances that place them at “unnecessary risk”, such as not having adequate PPE.

“Clinicians should avoid ‘heroic’ or ‘sacrificial’ actions that are likely to take them out of the healthcare system (for example, entering a room without PPE to resuscitate a patient who is known to be infected),” the framework says.