Law and Ethics in Intensive Care

Ethical and legal issues pervade medicine, but in the unique environment of the intensive care unit the potential for confusion, error, and litigation is huge. This book is a practical guide to the main issues, offering clinical scenarios and possible solutions for the whole multi-disciplinary team working in the ICU.

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Critical care is a highly complex area of medicine, in which 30% of patients are expected to die. Developments in law have had a major impact on treatment expected and received in the ICU. However, the law and ethics surrounding clinical practice are not always clear, and generate much concern for those working in intensive care. This book outlines how the law has changed and the impact this has had on the practice of intensive care medicine. Particular clinical
scenarios are outlined to illustrate real problems that develop during normal clinical practice, with discussion of the legal and ethical framework that arises from these scenarios, and possible solutions to the problems that are identifed. It also covers issues such as consent, who decides children's
rights, living wills, withholding and withdrawing of life-saving care, whether there is a right to insist on treatment, definitions of 'death', ICU funding, and the breaking of bad news. The emphasis is on practical information that will inform all professionals involved with patients admitted to the ICU, including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.