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Legal

No duty to shield relatives from the shocking aftermath of treatment or death

Nervous shock used to be the term used to describe psychiatric harm that arose as result of another's negligent action. It is now more accurate to refer to such harm as a psychiatric injury, but the...

Capacity, belief and impairment of the mind or brain

‘Although Mr C's general capacity was impaired by schizophrenia, it had not been established that he does not sufficiently understand the nature, purpose and effects of the treatment he refuses....

The provision of aftercare under the Mental Health Act 1983

Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 gives people who have been detained for treatment under the Act the right to aftercare on discharge from hospital (R v Ealing District Health Authority Ex p...

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...

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...

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...

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],...

Determining death in cases of severe brain damage

There is no statutory definition of death (Grubb, et al, 2010). Generally the Triad of Bichat, which defines death as the failure of the body as an integrated system associated with the irreversible...

Consent, capacity and minors aged 16 and over

‘Every human being of adult years and sound mind has the right to determine what shall happen to their own body.’ .

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