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The emergency treatment of overdose: a problem of consent to treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Tim Hardie ,
Kamaldeep Bhui  and
Phillip Brown
Tim Hardie*
Affiliation:
UDMS, Guy's Campus, St Thomas' Street, London, SE1 9RT
Kamaldeep Bhui
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AZ
Phillip Brown
Affiliation:
Prestwich Hospital, Manchester M25 9BL
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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We surveyed 119 psychiatrists to see how they would act with a patient who has taken a potentially lethal overdose, has no mental illness, and is refusing treatment. There was substantial disagreement. There may be a risk of action under civil law whether the psychiatrist decides to treat the patient without his or her consent or not. The Law Commission are examining whether mental disorder, as defined in the Mental Health Act 1983, should be used as a test of Incapacity to give consent to medical treatment. Such legislation would help doctors but may encourage a wide interpretation of the definition of mental disorder.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 1995 , pp. 7 - 9
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994

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