“Respect for the autonomous choices of persons runs as deep in common morality as any principle.” – TL Beauchamp and JF Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics (2001)

The General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines Doctors’ use of social media establish the standards expected from every doctor practising in the UK. The guide details the principles of conduct for using social media and explains how doctors can put these principles into practice.

The General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines Doctors’ use of social media establish the standards expected from every doctor practising in the UK.

The General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines Doctors’ use of social media, establish the standards expected from every doctor practising in the UK.

The Mental Capacity Act states that a person lacks capacity if they are unable to make a specific decision, at a specific time, because of an impairment of, or disturbance, in the functioning of mind or brain. This factsheet sets out the things to look for when assessing the capacity of a patient.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the Act) aims to protect people who lack capacity, and maximise their ability to make decisions or participate in decision-making. The Act is underpinned by five statutory principles. This factsheet sets out these principles and how they should be applied.

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.

Parental responsibility is a legal term which refers to all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his/ her property.

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.

Good medical records – whether electronic or handwritten – are essential for the continuity of care of your patients. Adequate medical records enable you or somebody else to reconstruct the essential parts of each patient contact without reference to memory. They should therefore be comprehensive enough to allow a colleague to carry on where you left off.

Removing patients from the practice list is an emotive issue, risking criticism from bodies such as the Northern Ireland Ombudsman, the General Medical Council (GMC) and the media and should only be used after careful consideration and as a last resort.

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.