UK Medical Law: The Rights of the Patient - Essay Example

Running head: UK MEDICAL LAW UK Medical Law: The Rights of the Patient You're This research was carried out to give emphasis into the principles of the medical law within the UK. There have been a number of changes in the health care system within Britain alone, and this includes the new laws that have come into affect. The emphases of this research is situated around the fact that patients have rights whether they be conscious or unconscious and doctors have to abide by these various laws and regulations surrounding their practice in medical care. There are numerous examples to be found in this research to define the fact that consent by the patient is essential for a doctor to receive before he or she can go ahead and perform any medical procedure. The patient's permission must be acquired or those speaking for the patient must consent. This research shows that if consent is not given before a medical procedure the doctor can be charged with a criminal act and imprisoned due to his or her actions. Also, there is a slight inclusion of the rights that a living will produces for patients and their care. This provides protection for the patient themselves in case there is any misunderstanding among family and the patient is unable to speak up in their defense due to being comatose or having injuries preventing the ability to communicate. The conclusion of this research points out that the law was established to protect the patients as well as the medical practitioners. As long as they work in unison and are amicable in any procedures being carried out then there will not be any adverse repercussions for either party. UK Medical Law: The Rights of the Patient This current exemplary case defines the fact that this patient is relying on the consent of family members to ensure that her care is followed exactly to her wishes. However there are complications in this matter as her views use to be against certain medical procedures, but upon becoming engaged she changed her positional views on specific forms of medical care. Because Sandy (the patient) also had a medical card that stated she did not want blood transfusions, this alone could pose some complications in her medical care. However, because she had arranged for her father and her fiance to stand in for her behalf in case of an emergency, then it would seem that this would provide her the protection to guarantee she would get the appropriate care for which she was entitled. In 1Emma Caves review of recent medical laws(2004) she defines how the law of consent should provide ample protection in ensuring that Sandy's wishes will be met without any problem, even though her mother seems to be stressing the idea that Sandy use to be against various medical treatments. It would still seem that by Sandy authorizing her approval and voicing her feelings about medical care prior to her accident to her fiance and her father in regards to future medical care for her, she will be protected by the medical laws that are instated, as is being emphasized. Also, because the 2Children's Act of 1989 defines that there can be a parental agreement drawn up to allow for "parental responsibility", the father has the power to dictate the type of treatment he feels would be more favorable for that of his daughter. The complication that could arise however is due to the fact that the parents are in disagreement of what form of treatment Sandy should receive. Also, due to the fact that there is no written consent by Sandy to her father or her fiance, one has to draw on the assumptions that this is indeed what she wanted and what she herself would consent too. There are very few cases that detail the parental consent for treatment of a patient being disputed between the parents themselves. This alone makes it difficult for the 3family law to stipulate what form of medical treatment would be in Sandy's best interest given the circumstances. However, it appears that the correct treatment following Sandy's wishes was decided upon in this particular case. This is due to the fact that the fiance consulted with the father and together they were able to verify that Sandy would want the blood transfusion and any other medical procedure necessary to sustain her life, regardless of the mother's opposition to the matter. However, nine times out of ten cases such as these normally have to appear in the family courts to try and rectify the problem and come to a resolution in favor of the patient's best interest. Nevertheless since there was not the time available to go about reaching a resolution through the family courts, it is obvious that the doctors did the next best thing that was legally feasible by following the father and fiance's guidance and consent for Sandy's treatment. Legally, Dr. Houseman is protected due to the parental consent given by the father. His actions don't prove to have been done in any way that could be considered to have been adverse towards Sandy's recovery or her personal well-being. On the other hand, Dr. Desai could face criminal charges due to the actions he undertook of taking blood and tissue from Sandy without and legal consent from any party involved in this part of the surgical procedure. This leads to a 4breach of trust between the family and the doctor, and obviously it affects Sandy's physical well-being also. The only legal advisement that could really be given to Dr. Desai is to seek immediate legal counsel for his actions and instate a lawyer for his defense because it is highly likely he will be sued in the family courts and prosecuted in the criminal court due to a "5breach of trust" with his patients' family. Furthermore Dr. Desai can expect to be hit hard with punitive damages because of his obvious misconduct during the surgical procedure. The reason for the punitive award would be to teach this doctor a lesson for which he should be made aware. You can't simply take tissue and blood from a person without having some form of prior approval to do so; it goes against all the ethics that have been established in medicinal law. However, as has been stated this doctor has for more things to worry about than simple "6punitive damages" because he will probably lose his license to practice medicine in the state of which he resides as well. His actions could either be regarded as medical negligence or simple medical malpractice; both are very similar to one another. The whole point to the numerous "7law suits" that this doctor will probably face has one main goal and that is to protect the patient who did not receive the proper treatment that she was entitled to, to begin with. Her rights were definitely impinged upon and the doctor made serious errors in the decisions that he made that again were immoral and unethical. To conclude it has been pointed out that there are very serious laws guarding the protection of the patient within medicinal treatment. Doctors can not perform procedures without approval by at least a parental body or by their being proof that the patient would consent to the procedure herself if she was able to communicate appropriately. To bring finality, the whole purpose of these new laws are to ensure the safety and well being of the patient at times when they can not do so for themselves. The safeguarding of the patient has become very important in recent years, some would say due to the abundant amount of malpractice cases that appear every year. Regardless, the point has been made that patients have rights and the doctors must abide by those rights if they are to remain in the correct structure of the medical law. References Cave, Emma. (2004, 1 December). Review: Principles of Medical Law. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 16 (4): 465. O'Donnell, Kath. (2004, 1 June). Case Commentary: Welfare and the Role of Parental Decision Making. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 16 (2): 213. Maidment, Susan. (2001, 1 July). Parental Responsibility: Is there a Duty to Consult Family Law, 518. Waschman, Harvey. (2004, 14, September). Lawsuits Protect the Public. USA Today, 1. West's Encyclopedia of American Law. (2005, 5, October). Compensary Damages. West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 1. Read More