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Legal Duty (legal + duty)
Selected AbstractsReview: the legal duty of care for nurses and other health professionalsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 22 2009Andy Young Aims and objectives., To explore the nature and extent of the legal duty of care in relation to contemporary healthcare practice. Background., The paper seeks to re-frame and update the legal duty of care for clinical nursing practice in the 21st century, taking into account collaborative and partnership working in healthcare practice. Design., Doctrinal legal ,approach'. Method., ,Black letter' legal research methodology used for data collection and analysis. Literature search using Westlaw and LexisNexis database(s) to identify recent common law decisions. Results., There has been a perceptible doctrinal shift away from paternalism and toward patient empowerment and autonomy in the last decade. This has implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals in terms of consenting patients and acting reasonably to ensure quality patient care. Conclusions., A number of experienced nurses are currently assuming extended roles and some are completing medical tasks, traditionally allocated to doctors. These specialist practitioners must remember that additional responsibility invariably means increased professional risk and accountability. Therefore, it is essential that those engaging in advanced nursing practice, fully understand the nature and reach of their professional duty of care and the significance of statutory and common law developments. Relevance to clinical practice., Nurses and other healthcare professionals must update their clinical skills and practice within a legal framework and to certain standards. The cases cited and discussed are relevant to all branches of nursing and indeed to all health professions. [source] State Obligation, Sovereignty, and Theories of International LawPOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 3 2001Marc G. Pufong Much of what constitutes the business of international relations is undertaken by states in response to their perceived self-interest, and the commitments of states create duties and obligations. This paper assesses critical values that permeate substantive understanding of state duties and obligations. It explores how states traditionally gain community standing and how their choices bind them to existing community norms, even though some are often contested. Assuming a state to be a bona-fide and recognized member of the international community, its self-interested activities, praise-worthy or controversial, create obligation, i.e., a moral and legal duty recognized and actionable by law. In practice, what actually constitutes obligation may not be the same in all situations, or be fulfilled similarly by the same parties, or confer the same rights. It is difficult to establish a uniform reference with which to grapple with state obligation across all situations. This difficulty, however, does not enlighten debates on state responsibilities with regard to the binding force of international law where human rights abuses and other moral/legal violations are concerned. The argument is presented that since community membership, statehood, and state capacity provide the prima-facie basis for state obligation, attempts by rogue states to raise and frame secondary issues of sovereignty and autonomy in order to fence-out noncompliance are invalid States, therefore, are obligated and duty bound by community norms despite subsequent defenses that are raised in an effort to expunge transgressions. [source] Legal dilemmas for clinicians involved in the care and treatment of children and young people with mental disorderCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2010M. Bowers Abstract Background The 2008 revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice describes the legal framework governing the admission to hospital and treatment of children and young people for mental disorders as complex. Clinicians are required to be conversant with common law principles as well as the Mental Health Act (MHA), Children Act, Mental Capacity Act (MCA), Family Law Reform Act, Human Rights Act, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Professionals working with the MHA and the MCA have a legal duty to have regard to the respective Codes of Practice (MHA Code and MCA Code). In addition there is a need to keep up-to-date with developments in case law. The recent guidance from the National Institute for Mental Health in England, ,The Legal Aspects of the Care and Treatment of Children and Young People with Mental Disorder' draws all of the legal regimes together and suggests pointers on the most appropriate course of action when the regimes overlap. Discussion This paper will aim to highlight legal dilemmas relating to the care and treatment of under 18-year-olds for mental disorder and to discuss the impact of these on clinical practice. The new legal framework will be discussed with reference to hypothetical cases. Key issues include age and maturity, capacity, deprivation of liberty and the zone of parental control (ZPC). Conclusions It is essential that clinicians are aware of their responsibilities within the new legal framework in order to avoid becoming a target for litigation. This paper is aimed at meeting the recommendation for clinicians to be aware of their responsibilities and engage in appropriate training. [source] | ||||||||||