Mental Capacity & Serious Medical Cases - Best Practice & Procedure

Introduction

Serious medical cases involving patients who lack mental capacity or are at the end of life are becoming an increasingly common and challenging area of practice for lawyers.

Practitioners in this area of law are increasingly instructed in serious medical cases involving adults who may lack capacity, including cases concerning invasive medical treatment, withdrawal or withholding of treatment, and end-of-life decision-making for patients in a prolonged disorder of consciousness. These cases raise complex legal, procedural, and ethical issues.

This new virtual classroom seminar provides practical guidance on the legal framework for serious medical treatment decisions, explaining when an application to court is necessary and what procedures must be followed where court involvement can be excluded.

The session will explore the legal framework, procedural requirements, and recent case law governing serious medical cases, with a particular focus on identifying when court involvement is required, and when it is not, and the precise procedural steps that must be followed.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• Advance decisions to refuse treatment:
• Legal requirements for validity and applicability
• Practical issues arising in emergency and end-of-life contexts
• Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (‘PDOC’):
• PDOC clinical guidance
• Procedural requirements and court involvement
• When applications are mandatory and when they may not be required
• Serious medical treatment and with best interests decision-making
• End-of-life decision-making:
• Cases where clinicians and family agree
• Cases involving dispute between clinicians, family members, or other interested parties
• The role of P’s wishes, feelings, beliefs, and values
• Recent case law - key Court of Protection and appellate decisions shaping serious medical treatment practice

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.