“Respect for the autonomous choices of persons runs as deep in common morality as any principle.” – TL Beauchamp and JF Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics (2001)

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the Act) aims to protect people who lack capacity, and maximise their ability to make decisions or participate in decision-making. The Act is underpinned by five statutory principles. This factsheet sets out these principles and how they should be applied.

Medication errors account for approximately 20% of all clinical negligence claims against doctors in both primary and secondary care. The costs associated with adverse events and inappropriate prescribing has been estimated at more than £750 million per year. This factsheet gives advice about avoiding prescribing errors.

Parental responsibility is a legal term which refers to all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his/ her property.

Respect for patients’ autonomy is expressed in consent law; to impose care or treatment on people without respecting their wishes and right to self-determination is not only unethical, but illegal. The approach to consent in Northern Ireland is currently governed by common law.

Good medical records – whether electronic or handwritten – are essential for the continuity of care of your patients. Adequate medical records enable you or somebody else to reconstruct the essential parts of each patient contact without reference to memory. They should therefore be comprehensive enough to allow a colleague to carry on where you left off.

Valid consent is just as important when treating children and young people as it is with adults. In some situations children are able to give consent themselves, and sometimes others need to take the decision on their behalf. This factsheet sets out the basic information to enable you to obtain the appropriate consent from children and young people.

Doctors may, on occasion, receive a request from a patient’s employer, an insurer or from a government department, for a medical report to be delivered directly to the relevant department, without the patient seeing it.

There is a certain ambiguity surrounding chaperones and what exactly their purpose is. Below are common questions that Medical Protection receives about chaperones.

Unfortunately things do go wrong in healthcare and sometimes patients are dissatisfied, disappointed or upset with the care that they have received. Medical Protection supports open communication, and we encourage members to apologise where things have gone wrong, regardless of fault.

One of the most difficult situations faced by any clinician is when you are concerned that a colleague’s behaviour, health or professional performance may be placing patients at risk. This factsheet outlines your duty to raise concerns when patients may be at risk of harm.

At presentation, Peter was 14 years old and had presented with migraines since the age of 8. He was taking Pizotifen and his headaches were well controlled. Over the past four weeks he had started getting headaches again. They were in a similar location to his migraines, but were different in nature – he couldn’t put his finger on exactly how.

A clinical negligence claim is a demand for financial compensation for alleged harm caused by substandard clinical care. Common reasons for claims include failure or delay in diagnosis, or incorrect treatment. In fact, many claims arise out of poor communication.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985 and the legislation was re-enacted in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Five official reports on the subject have been published since November 2013 and MPS has produced this guidance for members.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985 and the legislation was re-enacted in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Five official reports on the subject have been published since November 2013 and MPS has produced this guidance for members.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985 and the legislation was re-enacted in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Five official reports on the subject have been published since November 2013 and MPS has produced this guidance for members.