Nursing Capacity And Consent Paper

1290 Words3 Pages

Capacity and Consent: Understanding the Implications for Nursing Practice

Norma LeBlanc

C00425167

University of Louisiana Lafayette Introduction
Most people value the right to choose and on a daily basis make many choices concerning a wide range of things that impact their lives including whether to follow medical advice. When making these decisions, people will usually consider all the available options, and choosing the course of action that suits them best. A person uses the same process when choosing his/her heath care options.
The right to choose is protected by the ethical principle of autonomy (Burkhardt and Nathaniel, 2014), and is supported both in law (Mental Capacity Act 2005) and health-care policy (Department of …show more content…

If an adult patient refuse to give their consent and are deemed to have the mental competence or ‘capacity’ to do so, health professionals are not permitted to provide care or treatment, even in the event that this may cause the person lasting, preventable health damage, or result in death. Capacity and consent are important issues in contemporary healthcare, and issues of which nurses in all fields of practice need to have a good understanding. This paper discusses what is meant by the terms ‘capacity’, ‘consent’ and ‘informed consent’, and explores the legal, ethical and professional obligation to obtain patient consent for all healthcare treatments.
What is Consent?
Inherent in nursing practice is recognition of the right of people to make informed decisions and to formally consent (or refuse to consent) to care and treatment related to their health needs. The word “consent” is used frequently in healthcare. Consent to treatment is 'the principle that a person must give their permission before they receive any type of medical treatment or examination’ (NHS Choices, 2016).
A patient’s consent can be implied or expressed. Expressed consent is an oral or written authority by the patient to render the proposed treatment. Consent for routine blood work and x-rays, urine samples are considered …show more content…

States have recognized the right of parents to make health care decisions on their child’s (younger than 18) behalf in 46 states. The exceptions to this rule are medical emergencies when there is no time to obtain parental consent and in cases where a minor is "emancipated" by marriage.
Some adult patient seeking treatment may not have the capacity to give consent. There are principles that must be adheres to when assisting patients with limited capacity. These principles include the inability to: (1) Act; (2) Make decisions; (3) Communicate decisions; (4) Understand decisions; and (5) Retain the memory of decision. Where a patient lacks decision-making capacity, courts may make a declaration that treatment can be given lawfully, even without the patient’s consent.
What is informed

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