Common Law

1
Common Law

• Common Law describes legal principles and
  concepts which evolved over centuries but judges
  in English court.
• Australian Common Law is based upon English
  common Law
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Australia

2
Statue and Civil Law

• Australian State Law is made by the Parliaments
  of the individual States.
• The High Court of Australia has jurisdiction over
  each of the State Supreme Courts.
• Civil Law is a legal interpretation of common
  law.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Australia

3
Enrolled Nurse

• Enrolled Nurses are the second tier nurse of a
  qualified framework regulated by acts of
  parliament.
• The rest of Australia refers to the Division 1 RN
  as a Registered Nurse and the Division 2 RN as an
  Enrolled Nurse (EN).
• http//www.enpansw.org.au/whatis.html

4
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMX)

• ANMX is a national nursing body concerned with
  national standards and processes for the
  regulation of nursing.
• ANMX defines an Enrolled Nurse as a person
  licensed under an Australian State or Territory
  Nurses Act or Health Professionals Act providing
  nursing care under the supervision of a
  Registered Nurse.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Competency_standards_R
  N.pdf

5
Legal Requirements for Nursing Documentation

• Maintain confidentiality of electronic
  documentation and information.
• Include practices that maximize confidentiality
  of documentation
• Communicate/disclose relevant
• Provide information with relevant others only
• Manage, tear and/or destroy all copies
  appropriately
• Allow access to only those who have authority to
  access it. http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Competency_
  standards_RN.pdf

6
Consent

• Consent is when a person understands fully the
  implications of having or refusing a treatment,
  is one which is held in the nurse's mind when
  suggesting treatment options.
• This principle is not absolute as people are
  sometimes unable to make choices about their own
  treatment due to being incapacitated or having a
  mental illness that affects their judgment. This
  means that the nurse has to weigh their duty of
  care against the autonomy of the person in care.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_ethics

7
Confidentiality

• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Code of Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses
• 8. A nurse must treat personal information
  obtained in a professional capacity as
  confidential ...
• A nurse must, where practicable, seek consent
  from the individual or a person entitled to act
  on behalf of the individual before disclosing
  information. In the absence of consent, the nurse
  uses professional judgement regarding the
  necessity to disclose particular details, giving
  due consideration to the interests, wellbeing,
  health and safety of the individual and
  recognising that the nurse is required by law to
  disclose certain information.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/ANMC_Professional_Cond
  uct.pdf.

8
Negligence

• Definition of nursing negligence is when a nurse
  who is fully capable to care does not use such
  care as a reasonably prudent nurse would use, and
  as a result the patient suffers in some untoward
  way.
• It is not carelessness but can be generally
  defined as conduct that is culpable because it
  falls short of what a reasonable person would do
  to protect another individual from a foreseeable
  risks of harm
• faculty.schreiner.edu/rpullin/PVR/Legal20Aspects
  20of20Nursing20Negligence.doc

9
Privacy

• The 2008 ANMC Code of Ethics views privacy in the
  following way The ethical management of
  information involves respecting peoples privacy
  and confidentiality without compromising health
  or safety. This applies to all types of data,
  including clinical and research data,
  irrespective of the medium in which the
  information occurs or is stored.20 Personal
  information may only be shared with the consent
  of the individual or with lawful authorisation.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Research20and20Polic
  y/Codes20Project/New20Code20of20Ethics20for2
  0Nurses20August202008.pdf

10
Duty of Care

• Nurses and midwives have a duty of care and are
  responsible for the care they provide to patients
  and clients who are are entitled to receive safe
  and competent care
• http//www.nmc-uk.org/aFramedisplay.aspx?document
  ID201
• The general duty of care is also based on the
  contractual and institutional duties and rules,
  designed to protect the vulnerability of those
  who depend on the care and protection of others.
• Cited from Nursing Ethics by Ian E. Thompson,
  Kath M. Melia, Kenneth M. Boyd, 1995 asseced at
  http//books.google.com/books?idimdHTVjW_B8CpgP
  A95lpgPA95dq22dutyofcare22nursingsource
  webotso2gdV9Reb2sigKT0nH_Ggat0TC3vNaOpBaumRHpQ
  hlensaXoibook_resultresnum7ctresult

11
Life and Death Issues EN/Div 2

• The ANMC National Competency for the Enrolled
  Nurse identifies several responsibilities of the
  EN/Div 2, both if not done properly could result
  in issues of Life and Death.
• "Where state law and organisational policy
  allows, enrolled nurses may administer prescribed
  medicines or maintain intravenous fluids.
• Competency Element 6.1 Reports changes in
  health and functional status to the registered
  nurse or appropriate members of the health team
  preparation.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Publications/Competenc
  y20standards20EN.pdf

12
Five Ethical Issues - 1

• From the ANMC Code of Ethics for Nurses in
  Australia
• Nurses value quality nursing care for all people.
  Nurses will not accept unethical behavior or
  treatment.
• Nurses value respect and kindness for self and
  others. Placing the nurse at the persons
  service through the expression of kindness
  encompasses the moral worth and dignity of the
  self and others.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Research20and20Polic
  y/Codes20Project/New20Code20of20Ethics20for2
  0Nurses20August202008.pdf

13
Five Ethical Issues - 2

• From the ANMC Code of Ethics for Nurses in
  Australia
• Nurses value the diversity of people among self,
  persons and colleagues, requires acknowledgement
  of ones own cultural similarities and
  differences from others, and the respect of each
  individual as a human being.
• Nurses value access to quality nursing and health
  care for all people. Nurses seek to reasonably
  and equitably provide services based on need
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Research20and20Polic
  y/Codes20Project/New20Code20of20Ethics20for2
  0Nurses20August202008.pdf

14
Five Ethical Issues - 3

• From the ANMC Code of Ethics for Nurses in
  Australia
• Nurses value informed decision making. People
  must have the opportunity to verify the meaning
  and implication of information being given to
  them. Nurses recognized that situations may not
  be the best for persons to either entertain or
  consider information.
• http//www.anmc.org.au/docs/Research20and20Polic
  y/Codes20Project/New20Code20of20Ethics20for2
  0Nurses20August202008.pdf

15
Moral Decision Making Model

• From Ethics in Nursing Practice By Sara T. Fry,
  Megan-Jane Johnstone, 2002, p,. 58
• Accessed at http//books.google.com/books?idoFgK7
  pJO3UACpgPA58lpgPA58dqmoraldecisionmaking
  modelsnursingsourcewebotsKkxg4BNpcFsigIQAGu
  VhYF9obQX-RXkPX3QalpzUhlensaXoibook_resultr
  esnum1ctresult

Access the Situation
Evaluate moral outcomes
Identify moral problems
Implement moral plan of action
Set moral goals and plan moral action
16
Implications of Coronial Request for EN

• A coronial inquest is a court hearing conducted
  by the CORONER in the Coroner's court. for the
  purpose of establishing if unlawful death
  occurred where, when and how the death occurred
  to identify persons (if any) to be charged with
  certain offences and to identify the deceased
  person if the identity is not known.
• Relevance to Nursing
• May be asked to make a statement
• Investigation may be months after death
• Nurses have a right to seek legal advise before
  making a statement
• Can be subpoenaed to appear before the court
• Preparation of body after death if likely to be
  coroners case
• Documentation
• http//www.workplacedeath.wmb.org.au/why_death.php
  
• nursingandmidwifery.curtin.edu.au/current/outlines
  /undergrad/Sem22007/PPI214UnitOutlineSem2-07.doc

17
Open Disclosure

• Open disclosure means an open approach to
  communication when things go wrong an adverse
  event in the course of receiving health care.
  It includes an expression of regret, a factual
  explanation of what happened, the potential
  consequences and steps being taken to manage the
  event. An important aspect of open disclosure is
  that it requires consumers to be told how the
  incident has been reviewed and what systems will
  be put in place to ensure similar incidences will
  not recur..
• An adverse event as an incident in which harm
  results to a person receiving health care. The
  definition does not require that the consumer
  knows that
• Medical treatment is inherently risky. There
  will always be some level of adverse events,
  whether as a result of complications, adverse
  effect of treatment, medication error or
  substandard care. Studies in the USA, Australia
  and the United Kingdom put the extent of adverse
  events experienced in hospitals at about 10 of
  hospital admissions. The Quality in Australian
  Health Care Study found that just over half of
  these were preventable.
• http//www.healthissuescentre.org.au/documents/ite
  ms/2008/05/206756-upload-00001.pdf