Nursing Law and Ethics

(Marcin) #1
nurse were to make disclosures to the local media this would not be within the terms of
the Act and no protection from victimisation would be granted.


  1. Over the two year period 1997±1999 covered by the latest Mental Health Commission
    Biennial Report only 17 referrals for neurosurgery were made ± a figure which is
    considerably lower than for any previous period.

  2. For example see theEighth Biennial Report 1997±1999,atpara. 6.22, The Stationery
    Office, London.

  3. Per Lord Donaldson at p. 798.

  4. Mental Health Act Code of Practice, 1999, at para. 15.11, Department of Health,
    London.

  5. Mental Health Act Manual, 6th edn, para. 15.12, Sweet & Maxwell, London. See also
    Gunnet al.#1999) Decision making capacity,Medical Law Review,7,p.269, available
    electronically at http://www.oup.co.uk/medlaw/.

  6. See note 11.

  7. Per Lord Donaldson inRe T[1992] at p. 796.

  8. See for exampleRe F %mental patient: sterilisation)[1990] 2 AC 1 andAiredale NHS Trust
    v.Bland[1993] AC 789.

  9. These issues will be covered generally by Practice Directions ± for exampleOfficial
    Solicitor's Practice Note[1996] 2 FLR 111 andPractice Note %persistent vegetative state:
    withdrawal of treatment)[1996] 4 All ER 766.

  10. Fennell, P.W.H. #1990) Inscribing paternalisation in the law: consent to treatment and
    mental disorder.Journal of Law and Society, 17 #29) 29.

  11. Fennell,ibidat page 43.

  12. See further Mental Health Act Code of Practice, para. 15.11 and the BMA #1995)Code of
    Practice on Advance Statements about Medical Treatment,BMA, London.
    36.Rv.Bournewood[1998] see note 15.

  13. Cm 3808, 1997 Lord Chancellor's Department, The Stationery Office, London.

  14. The Law Commission,Mental Incapacity,Report No 231 #Summary) London 1995.
    39.Who Decides? Making decisions of behalf of mentally incapacitated adults,Cm3808, para
    3.18. Lord Chancellor's Department, The Stationery Office, London.

  15. Law Commission Report No. 231 #Summary), #1995), at para 1.5.Mental Incapacity.
    41.Making Decisions. The Government's proposals for making decisions on behalf of mentally
    incapacitated adults.October 1999 Cm.4465. Lord Chancellor's Department, The Sta-
    tionery Office, London.
    42.Making Decisionsat Chapter 1 para 1.12. See also Rodgers, M.E. #2000) Making deci-
    sions for the mentally incapacitated,Health Care Risk Report, 6 #3) 10.

  16. Introduction para 7.

  17. See Dimond, B. #1989) The Right of the Nurse to Detain Informal Patients in Psy- chiatric Hospitals in England and Wales'.Medical Lawpp. 535±47. 45.The Mental Health %Nurses) Order 1998 %SI 1998 No 2625)defines who will be a nurse of prescribed class of anurse registered in any part of the register maintained under
    section 7 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997 which is mentioned in
    paragraph #2)'. Paragraph 2 refers to nurses in Part 3 #first level nurses trained in the
    nursing of persons suffering from mental illness), Part 4 #second level nurses trained in
    the nursing of persons suffering from mental illness #England & Wales)), Part 5 #first
    level nurses trained in the nursing of persons suffering from learning disabilities), Part
    6 #second level nurses trained in the nursing of persons suffering from learning dis-
    abilities #England & Wales)), Part 13 #nurses qualified following a course of prepara-
    tion in mental health nursing) and finally Part 14 #nurses qualified following a course of
    preparation in learning disabilities nursing).

  18. Mental Health Act Code of Practice, 1999, at para 9.1. Department of Health, London.


Mental Health Nursing 183
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