Understanding your legal responsibilities

At MPS we see numerous cases where doctors have unwittingly fallen foul of the law. This is often because they are unaware of the relevant statutes regulating their area of practice or because they have not fully understood the principles underlying considerations such as consent or confidentiality.

The best way to avoid running into similar problems yourself is to develop a good working knowledge of (and comply with) the legal framework that governs the practice of medicine. There are three main sources:

Statutes

These are Acts of Parliament and statutory instruments laying down clear requirements that must be adhered to. Most cover particular aspects of practice but some, such as the Data Protection Act, while not specific to medicine, have
a considerable impact on medical practice.

Case law

Principles derived from the interpretation of individual court cases on relevant areas such as consent, confidentiality and clinical negligence. These principles apply to all areas of clinical practice and represent a constantly evolving area of law.

Codes of conduct and statements of professional responsibility issued by the GMC

All practitioners should be conversant with the standards of practice and responsibilities that are a condition of their continued registration.