When is a patient capable of consent?
Article Abstract:
Decisions about whether a patient is mentally capable of giving or withholding consent to treatment can sometimes be difficult. Consent depends upon the person being able to make a reasoned decision based on an understanding of what the treatment entails and the likely consequences of undergoing and not undergoing the treatment. Six case studies examine a range of complex situations, including those of a patient with a mental illness, a child of parents with strict religious beliefs, and the unborn baby of a mother with a needle phobia.
Publication Name: Nursing Times
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0954-7762
Year: 1999
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Basic powers under the Mental Health Act
Article Abstract:
It is essential for all nurses to have a basic understanding of the laws which govern the treatment of mental health patients in the UK. Sectioning of a mental patient may only be permitted if the patient falls into one of four mental disorder categories. The Mental Health Act allows patients to be committed to 28 days sectioning during which time assessments are made by trained psychiatrists and doctors. Relatives of sectioned patients are allowed rights under the Act, relating to discharge and application for treatment.
Publication Name: Nursing Times
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0954-7762
Year: 1999
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Mental health law and the nurse
Article Abstract:
The legal position of mental health patients is often unclear because the majority are not sectioned and therefore not covered by legislation covering their confinement and treatment. Nurses have a right to use force when dealing with a patient trying to leave premises when treatment is taking place. Medical officers must be on hand when treatment of a non-consensual nature is being performed on a mental health patient who has not been sectioned.
Publication Name: Nursing Times
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0954-7762
Year: 1999
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