Legal Aspects

Question 1

define consent

Answer 1

a valid consent is required before medical treatment can be provided to a competent adult –> this does mean that the competent adult can also refuse medical treatment

health professional who treat without consent liable under civil or criminal law/subject to disciplinary action

Question 2

criteria for a valid consent

Answer 2

• person must have capacity (18+ and have the mental capacity to make a decision)
• voluntarily provided (not coerced or pressured by practitioners or family members)
• the patient must be provided with all the necessary information regarding their treatment

Question 3

criteria for capacity

Answer 3

• law presumes all adults have capacity to consent/refuse treatment
• common law test person will have capacity if able to:
  
  • comprehend/retain information including consequences
  • use information in making decision

Question 4

criteria for decision making

Answer 4

• adults is presumed to have decision making capacity
  
  • understand nature and effect of decision
  • freely and voluntarily make decision
  • communicate decision
• impaired decision making capacity
  
  • firstly: advanced care directive
  • secondly: enduring power of attorney

Question 5

Advanced Care Directive (ACD)

Answer 5

in the event a person loses capacity to make decision, the ACD provides instruction that a person has made about future medical treatment/health care

Question 6

Enduring Power of Attorney

Answer 6

legal document

outline who you would like to manage your affairs when you have no capacity (financial and/or health)

makes the decision on your behalf regarding finances or health (or both) when you have no capacity

Question 7

child consent

Answer 7

• parent’s right to consent to medical treatment for their child is not absolute and may change over time as a child matures and becomes capable of making their own decisions
• if competent, a child can may make their own treatment decision without parental consent
• emergency treatment can still be provided even if the child or child’s parents refuse it

if not Gillick Competent - required to make decision in accordance with the child’s best interest

Question 8

define Gillick Competent

Answer 8

used for children under the age of 18 to assess whether they have the sufficient understanding and intelligence to fully understand the treatment decision proposed

Question 9

Double Doctrine Effect

Answer 9

• is an ethical concept used to justify when an action has both a good and a bad effect.
• only applied when the patient is near death
• most critical element is intention
  
  • as long as the intention was to relieve the pain and symptoms and not cause death

Question 10

euthanasia + 3 types

Answer 10

currently illegal in Australia

deliberate, intentional act of one person to end the life of another to relieve their suffering

voluntary (at the request)
non-voluntary (not competent)
involuntary (without request)

Question 11

Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)

Answer 11

more commonly used in Australia to refer to assistance provided to a person by a health practitioner to end their life. ‘Voluntary’ indicates that the practice is a voluntary choice of the person, and that they are competent (have capacity) to decide to access VAD

Question 12

Voluntary starvation

Answer 12

every competent adult has the right to refuse to eat and drink, and not be force fed contrary to their wishes.

if the person dies as a result of refusing food or drink, the person will not have committed suicide. Rather, the person will have exercised his or her lawful right to refuse food or drink

Question 13

VAD Law Critiera

Answer 13

• aged 18 or over
• AU citizen or permanent resident
• decision making capacity
• diagnosed with disease, illness or medical condition
  
  • incurable
  • advance, progress and will cause death
  • expected to cause death within 6 months
  • cause suffering to person that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person finds tolerable