The patient who was pregnant had been involved in a car accident and during hospital treatment required a blood transfusion.
Held: Lord Donaldson MR said: ‘Doctors faced with a refusal of consent have to give very careful and detailed consideration to the patient’s capacity to decide at the time when the decision was made. It may not be the simple case of the patient having no capacity because, for example, at that time he had hallucinations. It may be the more difficult case of a temporarily reduced capacity at the time when his decision was made. What matters is that the doctors should consider whether at that time he had a capacity which was commensurate with the gravity of the decision which he purported to make. The more serious the decision, the greater the capacity required. If the patient had the requisite capacity, they are bound by his decision. If not, they are free to treat him in what they believe to be his best interests.’
Judges:
Lord Donaldson MR
Citations:
[1993] Fam 95
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – In re MB (Medical Treatment) CA 26-Mar-1997
The patient was due to deliver a child. A delivery by cesarean section was necessary, but the mother had a great fear of needles, and despite consenting to the operation, refused the necessary consent to anesthesia in any workable form.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Health
Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.186734