Advice centre

A private neurosurgeon faces questions on consent, following a lumbar microdiscectomy sciatica and back pain

Why are medicolegal issues important?

Medication errors account for approximately 20% of all clinical negligence claims against doctors in both primary and secondary care. The costs associated with adverse events and inappropriate prescribing has been estimated at more than £750 million per year. This factsheet gives advice about avoiding prescribing errors.

Respect for patients’ autonomy is expressed in consent law; to impose care or treatment on people without respecting their wishes and right to self-determination is not only unethical, but illegal. The approach to consent in Northern Ireland is currently governed by common law.

Valid consent is just as important when treating children and young people as it is with adults. In some situations children are able to give consent themselves, and sometimes others need to take the decision on their behalf. This factsheet sets out the basic information to enable you to obtain the appropriate consent from children and young people.

Doctors may, on occasion, receive a request from a patient’s employer, an insurer or from a government department, for a medical report to be delivered directly to the relevant department, without the patient seeing it.

There is a certain ambiguity surrounding chaperones and what exactly their purpose is. Below are common questions that Medical Protection receives about chaperones.