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Legal

Clinical negligence litigation and the NHS: focusing on the injured patient

I see this happening in some debates about reforming clinical negligence litigation. We often hear clarion calls for clinical negligence reform and the need to safeguard scarce NHS resources, which is...

Facing the consequences of poor record keeping and communication

Never Event data show the issues of poor NHS communication strategies in a tragic light. Many of these terrible events would not have happened had good communication strategies been in place. NHS...

Ensuring the necessity of best interests determinations

‘Keep to all relevant laws about mental capacity that apply in the country in which you are practising, and make sure that the rights and best interests of those who lack capacity are still at the...

Use of hospital and limitation directions under the Mental Health Act 1983

The Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 introduced hospital and limitation directions into the Mental Health Act 1983. Section 45A of the Mental Health Act 1983 allows the Crown Court to issue a hospital...

The actual cost of clinical negligence in the NHS

‘This unsustainable situation is driven by an outdated legal system rather than deteriorating clinical standards. Legal reform is desperately needed.’

Insanity as a defence to a criminal charge

When a person with a mental disorder is prosecuted it is open to them to argue that they are not guilty by reason of insanity. This legal defence is available at common law to any criminal charge. For...

Avoiding litigation and complaints through good communication practices

According to NHS Resolution (2022a) missed fractures can occur at sites throughout the body but one injury in particular, hip fractures in older patients with a history of a fall, stood out when cases...

Consent and the requirement for accessible information

The law recognises that adults have a right to determine what will be done to their bodies (Re MB (Caesarean Section) [1997]). Touching a person without consent will amount to a civil trespass to the...

Nurses at risk of multiple jeopardy over allegations of unprofessional behaviour

Nurses' exposure to multiple jeopardy is founded on the multifaceted nature of the duty they owe to their patients and the nature of their accountability. Accountability underpins the professionalism,...

Leave of absence under the Mental Health Act 1983

‘Grant to any patient who is for the time being liable to be detained in a hospital under this Part of this Act leave to be absent from the hospital subject to such conditions (if any) as that...

Patient safety, choice and the law: news round-up

People who feel that they may have been wronged by a particular NHS resource allocation decision can access the courts to try to resolve the dispute. There is a well-developed legal framework on NHS...

Treatment as a whole approach to intervention without consent

‘The consent of a patient shall not be required for any medical treatment given to him for the mental disorder from which he is suffering, [not being a form of treatment to which safeguards apply],...

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