Medical and Family Law

Medical and Family Law

The issue of consent to treatment and the right to be informed about Alex's condition

Patients have a right to make decisions about medical care. The decision depends on the information provided by the healthcare professional. In healthcare, informed decision is an important ethical principle (Kennedy & Grubb, 2000). In medical law, it is necessary to inform the patient about the medical care before starting treatment. It is also important to inform the patient about the consequences of the medical treatment. It is the responsibility of the practitioner to inquire about the consent of the patient. If the patient is not in the condition to give consent, the practitioner must ask someone from the immediate family to give consent.

In the give case, Alex has suffered from an injury. The doctor needs to perform an operation for the treatment of Alex. The right hand of Alex would remain 'useless' for few years. Alex is not competent to give consent to medical treatment. The child is 12 years old. He does not have the ability to understand the proposed decision made by the doctor. Therefore, in this situation, it is the responsibility of practitioner to inform Alex's mother about the treatment.

In 2004, the court stated, in a similar case, that the child at this age is not competent to make a decision on behalf of parents. Therefore, in this case, Alex's mother needs to take a decision about the medical treatment of Alex. The decision made by Alex's mother should be in the best interest of the child. The parents of Alex have the right to give consent to the decision of medical care of Alex.

Rights of Brad

In the situation of Brad, the police have the authority to take him to the custody. If the police have reason to believe that a person is suffering from mental illness, can cause self-harm, they can take the person to the hospital for evaluation.

The court of appeal had held a psychiatric patient from applying for review of an application for admission to the mental hospital. Later, the application of the patient was made successful by Mr. Justice. McCullough. A similar application was also submitted by another application 'L'. This application was also successful.

One of the fundamental elements of the UK law is the consideration for the unique circumstances of individuals. One of the benefits of this law is that, it determines the applicability of a certain legal action. The legal definition of mental disorder is mental illness or incomplete development of the human mind.

According to the Section 2 of the Mental Health Act, an individual can only be admitted to the hospital as a compulsory patient if the unique circumstance is attested by three professionals. In addition, the assessment of the testamentary capacity is also required at a particular time.

Authority of the Police

If the police suspects that the patient is alone and cannot care for himself, the patient can be moved to a safety ...