Legal frame work of veterinary nursing practice Flashcards
Why do we need laws?
Protect democracy
enforce justice
provide accountability of behaviour
Criminal Law is responsible for protecting ________ and ______ from harm
individuals
Society
Who enforces criminal law
the police and crown prosecution service
Who is the head of the Crown prosecution service
the Director of Public prosections
who over sees the Director of public prosecutions
the attorney general
True or False
The CPS operate independantly to the government
TRUE - but the attorny general is accountable to parliement
How does the RSPCA bring cases against individuals?>
private prosecutions under criminal law
List the three types of criminal offences under criminal law
Summary
Indictable
Triable either way
Give some examples of summary offences
speeding, animal cruelty
give some examples of indictable offenses
murder, rape
giv some examples of triable either way offences
burglary, robbery
What are of the law is civil law concerned with?
resolving disputes between individuals were there is no public concern
Within a civil case, which party is the defendant
the defendant is the person who is having the claim bought against them
within a civil case, which party is the claimant
the claimant is ther person bringing the civil case.
What are the most comon civil laws that can be broken in practice
breach of contract
tort (duty of care)
define a contract
a legally binding agreement between two parties
define breach of contract
when one party fails to uphold their part of the bargin o filfill their part of the contract
list some other contracts that may be enetered into with a VP
drug saftey food saftey cremation/disposal machine services employement contracts suppliers insurance payment plans - illegal consent forms
define a tort
a tort is a wrong against someones personal saftey, possessions or reputation
which is the most common tort found in a veterinary practice?
negligence
list some torts that could be seen within a VP
defamation (damage to reputation) nuisance personal injury (staff or public) trespass
true or false: torts can be unintentional
true
give an example of an intentional tort
assult
give an example of an unintertional tort
leaving a swab inside a patient
Scottish legal system:
What are the classifications of criminal cases
summary - minor cases
solemn - major cases
Summary and Solemn cases are bought on behalf of _______ by the Lord or the _____________
the public
Advocate
Procurator Fiscal
What is the Scottish equivlient to the Crown Prosecution Service?
the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
Who is the head of the COPFS (Scotland)?
The Lord Advocate
What types of cases are bought into the Justice of the Peace Court and the Sheriff Court?
Summary cases (minor)
are the cases tried before a jury in Justice of the Peace Court and the Sheriff Court?
no
Do Justices of the Peace have any legal training or qualifications?
No, they are advised by a legal clerk
Where are Solemn cases bought?
To the Sherrif court, or the High Court of Justiciary
Are solemn cases seen before a jury in the Sherrif court, or the High Court of Justiciary?
Yes, of 15 people
What role does the Jury play in Sherrif court, or the High Court of Justiciary?
They decided the verdict, (majoirty vote)
What is the Scottish equivilent to TORT law?
Dialect
Where are civil cases bought in scotland?
Sherrif Court, or the Court of Session.
What are the two main types of law?
Statutue Law
Common Law
describe statute law
created by Acts of Parliament.
Bills that have been passed through both House of Commons and House of Lords - then signed by the Queen
describe common law
created by previous decisions by courts, ‘precedent’. If an offence i snot covered by specific legislation then a judge will look at how previous similar cases were considered
What can be done if an individual is unhappy with decision made by a court?
they can appeal to a higher court against the decision. - in the UK, this is the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
are there any other sources of UK law?>
Yes, the European union Law and European convention on human rights
when the did European union Law and European convention on human rights orginiate?
1950’s after WW2 and were attempts to keep europe united
Does EU law get cancelled by UK law?
No, EU law takes precedence, because the UK has chosen to be part of the EU (may change, after brexit - unsure)
How are EU laws made?
Created by represenatives of the member states, nominated commissioners, government ministers and directly elected MEPs
What does the Veterinary Surgeons Act cover?
Who can treat/prescribe/perform surgery on animals Deligation to lay staff/nurses Training and education registration of veterinary surgeons diciplineary actions
What is the purpose of the Veterinary Surgeons Act?
Outlay all infomation in a central place
ensure standards accross practices
Which part of the Veterinary Surgeons Act is most relevent to Veterinary Nurses?
Schedule 3: exemptions from restrictions of practice of Veterinary Surgery
What does ‘veterinary surgery’ mean?
'art & science' of veterinary surgery and medicines diagnosis of disease giving advice based on diagnosis medical/surgical treatment performance of surgical operations
What is an owner able to do for their pets?
First aid
administration of medicines as per VS instruction
sub cut injections
are RVNs responsible for their actions?
Yes, those on the register can be held accountable for their actions
are SVNs responsible for their actions?
to a lesser extent, they are supposed to have supervision for all tasks that fall under scheduale 3
are there different rules for animals involved in agriculture?
Yes - farm animals can have procedures or medical treatment or minor surgery not entering a body cavity. this does not need to be performed by a VS
For a RVN to perform a schedule 3 procedure on an animal, what does their relationship with the VS need to be?>
Vet = employer. Or acting on behalf of employer
Animal is under care of the VS
Nurse is doing procedure under vets direction
Vet satisfied with VNs competency
how does schedule 3 define a student veterinary nurse?
‘those who are enrolled with the RCVS for the purpose of training at an approved practice or centre’
according to Schedule 3 - what aspects of anaesthesia are RVNs allowed to carry out?>
administration of a specific quantity of medications
maintain anaesthesia under direction of the VS
monitoring recover on behalf of the VS
What exemptions are made under section 19 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act?
Lab animals
Schedule 3 procedures
Xenotransplantation - human surgeons can remove animal (pig) body parts for organ transplantation
exemption orders - physio/artificial insemination/embryo collection
When was the Veterinary Surgeons Act first published?
1966
What features define a profession?
advanced qualifications skill set + expertise (potentially) well paid done appropriate training accountability and autonomy behaviour and ethics - codes of conduct CPD requirements
What are the functions of a professional regulatory body:
RCVS role as regultory body
seets out rules for VSs and VNs
Code of conduct
Acts as an authority on complex matters
Investigates complaints
what types of action can be taken as a result of the disciplnary system?
supervised practice
retraining
removal or suspension from the register
when was a disciplinary procedure first introduced for RVNs
2011
they were superceeded in 2014
What is covered by the Veterinary Nurse regulation rules?
by laws
registration fees
CPD needed
Entitlement of registration
what three criteria must a person furfil in order to be entitled to registration?
- meets requirements for education and training
- discloses matters relevent to good character
- pays registration fee
the VN disciplinary committee and the VN preliminary Investigation Committee consist of what type of people?
Lay members
VNs
VSs
how soon after being removed from the register can you apply to be replaceD?
10 months
what type of wrongdoing may lead to a nurse being suspended/removed from the register
professional misconduct
criminal offensces which make a nurse unfit to practice
Code of Professional Conduct of Veterinary Nurses:
how many principles of practice are there, what are they?
5 - competence honesty independance client confidentially professional accountability
what type of of behaviour must a veterinary nurse not engage in (public confidence)
behaviour that would bring the profession into disrepute
which members of the veterinary team must veterinary nurses delegate to?
people with appropriate competence and registration
Under what circumstances may client confidentiality be breaches without clients permission?
animal welfare
public interest
abuse
dangerous dogs
