Endnotes
If a patient is a Welsh language speaker, this may be a legal requirement.
Good medical practice paragraph 33 states; ‘You must consider and respond to the needs of patients with impairments or disabilities. Not all impairments and disabilities are easy to identify so you should ask patients what support they need, and offer reasonable adjustments that are proportionate to the circumstances.’..’ ‘Reasonable adjustments’ does not only mean changes to the physical environment. It can include, for example, being flexible about appointment time or length, and making arrangements for those with communication difficulties, such as impaired hearing. For more information, see the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website.
See paragraphs 128–146 on CPR in Treatment and care towards the end of life.
In these circumstances you will have legal authority to make decisions about treatment under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England and Wales) or the common law in Northern Ireland. In Scotland under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (the 2000 Act) you will have legal authority to make decisions about treatment if you are the treating medical practitioner with lead responsibility for the patient’s treatment and care, subject to issuing a certificate of incapacity. In this context ‘medical practitioner’ is taken to mean ‘doctor’ given its use in The Medical Act 1983. It should be noted that this legal authority is not restricted to doctors in Scotland as section 47(1A) of the 2000 Act states that in addition to medical practitioners, dental practitioners, ophthalmic opticians, registered nurses and any individual who falls within such description of persons as may be prescribed by the Scottish Ministers also has this authority. This list does not include physician associates or anaesthsia associates so on this basis physician associates and anaesthesia associates do not have this legal authority. See also the Key legislation and caselaw factsheet.
