Operation of guardianship laws in the emergency ward Mendelson, Danuta and Saunders, Anne 2011, Operation of guardianship laws in the emergency ward, Journal of law and medicine, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 13-31. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Operation of guardianship laws in the emergency ward Author(s) Mendelson, Danuta orcid.org/0000-0001-8955-0954 Saunders, Anne Journal name Journal of law and medicine Volume number 19 Issue number 1 Start page 13 End page 31 Total pages 19 Publisher Lawbook Co. Place of publication North Ryde, NSW Publication date 2011 ISSN 1320-159X Summary Enduring and workable legislative schemes typically include (a) a balanced approach to the rights and duties of all parties under their purview; and (b) consideration of all major consequences that may flow from the codification of underpinning doctrines. This column examines the 1999 amendments to the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 (Vic) regulating patients’ consent to medical treatment focusing on their application in modern emergency departments. The legislation needs to reconcile the human rights principle that humane and appropriate treatment is a fundamental right of all those who suffer from ill health and disease, with the principle that all patients (including those with impaired, but not totally absent, decisional capacity) have an absolute right to refuse life-saving treatment. Consent and refusal of treatment provisions should be based on the notion of reasonableness, including recognition that the mental and emotional states experienced by physically ill people may, in the short term, adversely affect their decision-making capacity. Unless the consent legislation factors in the realities of modern emergency practice and resources, statutory thresholds for decisional competence, instead of affording protection, may result in much worse outcomes for vulnerable patients. Language eng Field of Research 180112 Equity and Trusts Law Socio Economic Objective 970118 Expanding Knowledge in Law and Legal Studies HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2011, Lawbook Co. Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30038842 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Business and Law Law Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Mon, 17 Oct 2011, 12:45:58 EST Mon, 17 Oct 2011, 12:53:46 EST Mon, 17 Oct 2011, 12:55:06 EST Tue, 03 Feb 2015, 12:53:17 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 1 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 744 Abstract Views, 2 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 17 Oct 2011, 12:45:55 EST by Leanne Swaneveld