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Clinicians must work within the law and organisational
contracts, such as those related to the NHS. They also need to pay
heed to professional (e.g. General Medical Council, British Medical
Association) and general healthcare (e.g. Department of Health)
ethics and guidelines. Their requirements usually overlap but may
sometimes be different or even contradictory.
The law, clinical and ethical reasoning are all important to
decision-making, consent and capacity. Consideration of all three
can be complicated and vary in different contexts, i.e. from
general health to mental health, community mental health to
in-patient mental healthcare and then whether in-patient mental
healthcare is voluntary or not. We therefore should consider
clinical reasoning, ethics, the law and guidance separately, yet
alongside each other.
| Please note that ethical principles mentioned within this
module apply across the board but the module is written from the
English and Welsh perspective and colleagues in other UK
jurisdictions should check the parallel legal situations. |
Learning outcomes
This is the second module of a two-part learning
experience. By the end of this module we hope you will:
- be able to consider what to do when
decision-makers disagree
- recognise whose consent we should seek
- know the basic English and Welsh law in
relation to:
- assessing children and young
people’s competence or capacity to consent, and
- assessing and treating children
and young people.
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