Citation

Hodgkinson DW, Gray AJ, Dalal B, Wilson P, Szawarski Z, Sensky T, Gillett G, Yates DW. Br. Med. J. BMJ 1995; 311(6997): 115-118.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bmj.311.6997.115a

PMID

7613365

PMCID

PMC2550156

Abstract

Doctors in accident and emergency departments are sometimes presented with patients with potentially life threatening conditions who refuse to consent to treatment. The doctors then face a dilemma: to withhold necessary treatment or to act against a patient's express wishes. Two such cases are presented, and we asked a lawyer, two medical ethicists, a psychiatrist, and an accident and emergency physician to comment on the implications.

Language: en

Keywords

Adult; Alcoholic Intoxication; Beneficence; Craniocerebral Trauma; Drug Overdose; Emergency Medicine; Ethics, Medical; Humans; Legal Approach; Male; Mental Competency; Middle Aged; Paternalism; Personal Autonomy; Professional Patient Relationship; Suicide, Attempted; Treatment Refusal