Case One (Stephen) (Refusal of treatment) Essay

Case One (Stephen) (Refusal of treatment) - Essay Example It will also be important to examine case law in this area to see when the courts have overridden the wishes of an individual and how this has been achieved. Through examining case law and with reference to legislation it should be possible to determine whether a doctor would have the power to override Stephen’s refusal of treatment. As there is no mention of the age of Stephen or whether he has any mental health issues, it will be necessary to consider the impact of the Children Acts and the Mental Health Acts, to determine whether these would assist Stephen in his refusal or whether a doctor would be entitled to force him to have treatment, irrespective of his wishes. The issue of consent has been encompassed into Art 5 and 8 of the Human Rights Acts (1998) (HRA), with the intention of giving respect to the autonomy of the patient. It has been noted by researches that doctors in general see consent as a legal requirement (Kessel, 1994). Human rights supporters have argued th at the protection offered to adults should also apply to mature minors, which appears to have been addressed to a minor degree within the HRA (Hagger, 2003). In order for consent to be recognised as valid the principle of informed consent has developed. Informed consent centres on the giving of sufficient information to a patient with regard to the complications that might ensure following the treatment, so that they can make an informed decision about the treatment. Actions for negligence have been successful in cases where the patient did not give informed consent (Faden and Beauchamp, 1986). An example of this is Sidaway v Bethlem RHG and others [1984]1, in which the patient had not been told of all the potential risks of the operation, and would not have given consent if they had known of these risks. Davis (2005) has argued that there should be a change in the law in relation to such matters, and that patients should be given the option as to how much information they would lik e to know about the procedure. Implied consent has occurred in situations where a patient has willingly allowed the medical professional to administer medication or injections. However, implied consent can be problematic as simple attendance at the surgery or hospital does not mean that the patient is consenting to treatment. Autonomy is important in the decision making process and many legislative changes have been made in order to ensure the autonomy of the patient. Researchers such as Faden and Beauchamp (1986) believe that a patient has to be fully informed of the probable outcomes of the treatment in order to reach an autonomous decision. They were concerned that on some occasions persuasion and coercion might be used by the medical profession or the family of the patient to appeal to the patient’s sense of reason. Internationally the Nuremberg Code 1947 and the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki 1964 have been established as a means of increasing patient autonomy. As mentioned earlier the HRA has also enshrined protection of the rights of adults and adolescents into the Articles, thereby increasing autonomous levels (Hewson, 2000). Many of the issues surrounding autonomy have been centred on the rights of the child, as evidenced by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1991 where the aim was to give children the same rights as