There are other legal situations in which a person's capacity may be questioned, for example you might want to know if a person is able to make a will, to participate in research, to consent to have sex, get married or take out a mortgage. (eg (Iacono and Murray 2003) These questions raise different issues and are not covered in this article. Margeret Flynn's article on this site describes the realities of health care decision making. If you have not read them already, the articles on communication will also help you obtain truly informed consent. Health professionals must respect the personal autonomy of the people who use their services.
They must also try to do good (beneficence) and avoid harm (non-malificence). (British Medical Association and Law Society 2004) A proper understanding of consent is as central to the ethics of what we do as it is to its legality. You are in a strange country where you do not speak the language. You are tired, thirsty, confused and in pain. Later they try to justify their actions, claiming, "We only wanted to help." Was this ethical? Suddenly two strangers seize you and stick something sharp into your arm so that you bleed. You are involved in a road accident and are unconscious you need surgery. Can the hospital refuse to treat you because you cannot sign the consent form? You see the clinic nurse for an injection every three months but you do not know why. After several years, you discover it was a depot contraceptive. You push the doctor away when she tries to examine it.
She concludes that you are refusing treatment. The fracture fails to heal properly and you lose the use of your arm.
#FORM 2 G EXTRA JUDICIAL CONSENT PROFESSIONAL#ĭid the doctor do the right thing?Īdults expect to be asked whether they want medical treatment, and to have their decisions respected.