The Law and Medicine

Question 1

How are patients and staff kept safe?

Answer 1

• Rights that are upheld by law and documentation (NHS Constitution)
• Regulation (Investigation following errors, action taken upon concerns)
• Professional Practice (ensuring professionals are fit to practice and continue their development following graduation by GMC)

Question 2

What are the three types of law that protect the rights of patients and staff?

Answer 2

• Statues - law made by parliaments
• Criminal Law - public prosecutor versus a defendant. Offender can be sent to prison.
• Civil Law - private prosecution. Can lead to financial compensation to injured party

Question 3

Give examples of statutes which affect daily practice in healthcare.

Answer 3

• Human Rights Act
• Mental Capacity Act
• Abortion Act
• Health and Social Care Act

Question 4

Give an example of a health professional affected by criminal law. CASE 1

Answer 4

• VICTORINO CHUA
• Convicted of murder of two patients and GBH
• Not clear what the motive was
• Sentenced to 35 years in prison

Question 5

Give an example of a health professional affected by criminal law. CASE 2

Answer 5

• MILES BRADBURY - paediatric haematologist
• Admitted 25 offences including sexual assault, voyeurism and possession of indecent images
• Carried out unnecessary intimate examinations
• Imprisoned for 22 years and struck off by GMC

Question 6

Why is common law important?

Answer 6

• Important for interpretation of statute
• Law within UK bound by precedent - cannot change law, can only interpet it
• Allows similar cases to be treated in similar conditions.

Question 7

What are the criteria for a health professional to be sued for negligence?

Answer 7

• They owe the claimant a duty of care
• They breached that duty by failing to exercise reasonable care
• Breach of duty caused injury to claimant - lots of grey areas e.g neonatal care has grey areas - unsure if injury caused by premature birth of care

Question 8

What is the expected duty of care of a doctor?

Answer 8

• Meet the standards of a health professional skilled in that particular art
• Behave in a way someone else in your profession would behave
• Actions should be reasonable in specific circumstances (should be proven any other doctor would have acted in the same way)

Question 9

What are the role of professional guidelines?

Answer 9

• Used when determining best standard of care
• If decision made to deviate from guidelines, then documentation of reasons is best defence which are complete, legible and dated
• Not using guidelines would need to be defended and discussed with senior staff with justifiable reasons

Question 10

What is the role of the GMC?

Answer 10

• Audits standard of medical school education
• Supervises registration and revalidation
• Registration with GMC allows doctor to work as medical practitioner, prescribe drugs and sign medical certificates

Question 11

What is nonmaleficence?

Answer 11

• The ethical duty of a doctor to not do harm to their patients
• The idea of it being easier to prove not doing harm over doing good e.g with a medication/procedure

Question 12

What is the social contract?

Answer 12

• Society bestows privileges to doctors e.g high social status, self-regulation with GMC
• Profession provides expectations e.g providing patient-centred and competent care
• ALL BASED ON TRUST