Background Scarcity and limitations determine the context of care and have an impact on our general experience of good care. This appears in a continuous experience of deficit in, for example, lack of time, shortage of people, long waiting lists, lack of money, possibilities, breathing space, evolution and improvement. It is a major cause of moral distress in health professionals, clients and their families and friends, which leads to fundamental questions and doubts regarding the meaningfulness of the care process as a whole.
Aim To inquire into the phenomenon of limited care and describe it from an ethical perspective.
Method Consideration of ethical aspects of good care within the context of scarcity and limitations.
Results When looked at from the two-fold dynamics of scarcity and the three stages of the ‘Doing the Best I Can Do’-model, we can come to a meaningful approach to ethical efficiency within care practices.
Conclusion Giving room to experiences of moral distress as a result of scarcity and limitations, entering the dialogue about this, making them negotiable, within a context of authentic reflection and intervision, carefully choosing the most important priorities from a care ethics point of view, are all important and essential dimensions of a constructive way of dealing with scarcity and limitations within daily care practices as well as in the long run.