uncertainty, is highlighted. As this chapter has shown, the law's response has been
twofold. The basic framework of principles within which nurses are expected to
work has been augmented to cope with new dilemmas. At the same time, health
care professionals have been encouraged to refer problem cases to court. The
resulting decisions and regulations have added to the complexity of the law within
which nurses must operate. Attention to legal developments and a sound under-
standing of legal requirements have become vital components of a professional
approach to nursing critically ill patients.
10.6 Notes and references
- See, for example,Rv.Central Birmingham Health Authority ex parte Walker[1987] BMLR
32;Rv.Cambridge Health Authority ex parte B[1995] 2 All ER 12 4CA). - UKCC 41996)Guidelines for Professional Practice,p.15, para. 38. United Kingdom
Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting, London. - Children Act 1989 section 345).
- Children Act 1989 section 4.
- Lord Chancellor's Department 41998) Press Notice 201/98: Parental responsibility to
be conferred on unmarried fathers. - Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 41997)Withholding or withdrawing life
saving treatment in children. A framework for practice.Royal College of Paediatrics and
Child Health. London.
7.Re J specific issue orders: child's religious upbringing and circumcision)[2000] 1FLR 57 1
at 577 4d).
8.Wv.United Kingdom,July 8, 1987. Series A, No 121; 10 EHRR 29. - Based on the case ofRe: Representation Attorney-General41995) 3 Med LR 316.
- SeeRe S a minor) consent to medical treatment)[1994] 2 FLR 1065, andRe C detention:
medical treatment)[1997] 2 FLR 180. - The Royal College of Nursing 41999)Restraining, holding still and containing children:
guidance for good practice.Royal College of Nursing. London. - Preamble to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. 4 April 1997.
- UKCC 41996)Guidelines for Professional Practice,p.10, para. 19. United Kingdom
Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting, London. - P. 13, para. 30.
- British Medical Association, Resuscitation Council 4UK) and Royal College of Nursing
42001)Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation.BMA, London. - Law Commission 41995)Mental incapacity4Law Com No 231). The Stationery,
London. - Lord Chancellor's Department 41997)Who decides? Making decisions on behalf of men-
tally incapacitated adults.Cm3803. The Stationery Office, London. - Lord Chancellor's Department 41999)Making Decisions.Cm4465. http://www.
open.gov.uk/lcd/family/mdecisions/indbod.htm. Accessed on 03/11/99. - British Medical Association 41995)Advance Statements about Medical Treatment.BMA.
London. - Introduction, para. 20.
- Nys, H. 41999) Physician involvement in a patient's death: a continental European
perspective.Medical Law Review,7,208±246, at 211. - Para. 62.
- Para. 2.6.
The Critically Ill Patient 209