Providing a clear and accessible guide to medical law, this work contains extracts from a wide variety of academic materials so that students can acquire a good understanding of a range of different perspectives.
Medical Law and Ethics is a feature-rich introduction to medical law and ethics, discussing key principles, cases, and statutes. It provides examination of a range of perspectives on the topic, such as feminist, religious, and sociological, enabling readers to not only understand the law but also the tensions between different ethical notions.
Medical law is now a distinct and important legal subject. The rights and duties of the medical profession and the increasing human rights demands of patients ensures medical law continues to be one of the most dynamic and challenging subjects for study and debate. Since the publication of thefirst edition of this book, medical law has had to confront a series of cases concerning one of the most intractable issues of our time, the termination of patients' lives in distressing conditions. Since the momentous House of Lords' decision in the case of Anthony Bland, a victim of theHillsborough Stadium disaster, the medical law courts have had to react to changes in medical technology which can increase a patient's life-span whilst inspiring strong ethical dilemmas. Medical research has recently pioneered the technology to clone the human species as well as transplant organsfrom animals to humans. These are just a sample of current matters considered in the second edition of Textbook on Medical Law, which remains both a description and an evaluation of the law as it stands and is an aid to understanding the core principles which guide the future development of thatlaw.
Now in its Seventh Edition and in vivid full-color, this groundbreaking book continues to champion the “Have a Care” approach, while also providing readers with a strong ethical and legal foundation that enables them to better serve their clients. The book addresses all major issues facing healthcare professionals today, including legal concerns, important ethical issues, and the emerging area of bioethics.
"Doctors have been concerned with ethics since the earliest days of medical practice. Traditionally, medical practitioners have been expected to be motivated by a desire to help their patients. Ethical codes and systems, such as the Hippocratic Oath, have emphasised this. During the latter half of the 20th century, advances in medical science, in conjunction with social and political changes, meant that the accepted conventions of the doctor/patient relationship were increasingly being questioned. After the Nuremberg Trials, in which the crimes of Nazi doctors, among others, were exposed, it became clear that doctors cannot be assumed to be good simply by virtue of their profession. Not only this, but doctors who transgress moral boundaries can harm people in the most appalling ways"--
This book, written by the leading practitioners and academics in the field, is rapidly becoming recognized as the authoritative first point of reference for all medical law practitioners. Replete with references to primary sources and the secondary literature, this major undertaking provides acomprehensive exposition of English medical law, from the organisation of health care to the legal meaning of death.The book has been designed with the needs of the practitioner in mind while retaining a depth of analysis that will also find favour with an academic audience. The internal layout of the book has been specifically designed for ease of access, and it will be kept thoroughly up-to-date by way ofannual cumulative supplements compiled by the General Editors.The supplement brings the main work fully up to date to August 2001 and is included in the purchase price. Contents of the Fourth Supplement include, on the legislative front: the Health and Social Care Act 2001, introducing a range of changes to the structure of the NHS as well as to GPdisciplinary procedures and the law of confidentiality; the Care Standards Act 2000, introducing a regulatory framework for private hospitals and clinics; and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, affecting on access to information within the NHS.Important cases covered include: those that have considered the effect of the House of Lords' decision in McFarlane v Tayside Health Board on damages claims by parents for the birth of healthy (Greenfield v Flather) and disabled children (Parkinson v St James and Seacroft University Hospital NHSTrust, Lee v Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, and Hardman v Amin); also, important cases on the scope of employers' disciplinary procedures within the NHS (Saeed v The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust), the GMC's disciplinary procedures (R v GMC, ex p Richards and Selverathan v GMC) and thefirst case concerned with the GMC's professional performance procedure under the Medical (Professional Performance) Act 1995 (Krippendorf v GMC). The Court of Appeal's decision in the 'conjoined twins case' is analysed (Re A). A number of cases which have explored the impact of the Human RightsAct are considered, involving withdrawal of treatment from PVS patients (NHS Trust A v M; NHS Trust B v H) and a prisoner's right of access to infertility treatment (R v Secretary of State for the Home Dept, ex p Mellor).
This classic textbook has provided students of medical law and ethics with a framework for exploring this fascinating subject for over 25 years. Providing coverage of all of the topics found on medical law courses, it gives an overview of the inter-relationship between ethical medical practice and the law. The authors, both hugely experienced and influential in the field, offer their own opinions on current debates and controversies, and thereby encourage readers to formulate their own views and arguments. As a still-developing discipline, medical law is significantly shaped by the courts, and as such this book provides extensive coverage of recent judicial decisions as well as statutory developments. The last edition included a new chapter on the European dimension to health care, and this edition continues to take a comparative approach, with particular importance attached to the shift in influence from transatlantic jurisdictions to those of the EU. This book has continually evolved to reflect changes in the law and shifting ethical opinions - this eighth edition continues to fulfill this remit and is essential reading for any serious medical law student or practitioner, as well as being of interest to all those involved in the delivery and control of modern healthcare.