Consent In Nursing

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A nurse is someone who provides physical and emotional support for the patient, and they look at the patient as a whole and not because of their health condition whilst providing personal care and advice towards the patient and their care. The role of the nurse is to care for the patient and to look after the patient with care and compassion. The role of the nurse is to also make sure that the patient is safe from any type of harm and provide emotional support. All nurses must practice in confidence according to the code: standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008) and within other recognised ethical and legal code frameworks. The definition of law is made up of rules that has to be followed by the whole …show more content…

A patient has a right to life, right to be free from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment (Human Rights Act 1998, schedule 1, part 1, articles 2, 3 & 8). Consent in this example is very limited as the surgery needs to be done straight away and the patients family members are not available. The nurse has to put the patients’ health first before anything else as the nurse has a duty of care, they have to make sure that they make the right decision for the patient. However, it may be hard especially when there is no-one to give consent. However, it will be done to help the patient get the best care they need. The (NMC, 2008) states that emergency health will have to be done so long as the nurse is acting in the patient’s best interest. Therefore, the nurse will do what they have to do for the care of the …show more content…

Very young children normally rely on their parents for any for any type of consent as their parents are their legal guardians, therefore they have the authority to give consent on the child's behalf. Children between the ages of 16 and 18 are able to give consent without the need of their parent or guardian. However, some situations if the child can give consent the nurse must make sure that they have the mental capacity to do so Consent is requested by a person who has sufficient knowledge about the patients care and treatment so that the patient can make an informed decision (CQC,2009). For example, consent of a minor who is pregnant and wants an abortion; the nurse need to consider the girl’s mental capacity; for example, peer pressure, family issues. In these types of circumstances the nurse should call the parents as this is the best choice for the girl as she needs the

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