Ethics and Consent Flashcards
6 cards from real PLAB 2 practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Ethics and Consent flashcards as text
A junior doctor makes a prescribing error that causes harm to a patient. According to GMC Duty of Candour, what must happen?
Answer: The patient must be told honestly about the error, given an apology, and offered a remedy. The incident must be reported through the organisation's incident reporting system
The professional duty of candour (GMC) and statutory duty of candour (CQC) require that patients are told when things go wrong, given an honest explanation, an apology, and offered a remedy. The incident must be reported through Datix or equivalent system, investigated, and lessons learned shared.
A patient in A&E is unconscious after a road traffic collision and requires emergency surgery. There is no time to obtain consent and no family is contactable. What is the legal basis for proceeding with treatment?
Answer: Treatment can proceed under the doctrine of necessity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Section 5 — emergency treatment in the patient's best interests when they lack capacity and there is no time to consult
In a genuine emergency where the patient lacks capacity and delay would cause serious harm, treatment can proceed without consent under the common law doctrine of necessity and Section 5 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Treatment must be limited to what is immediately necessary and in the patient's best interests.
A competent adult patient with terminal cancer has decided to stop all active treatment. They understand the consequences. Their family disagrees and asks you to continue treatment. What should you do?
Answer: Respect the patient's autonomous decision — a competent adult has the right to refuse treatment even if it leads to death. Support the family with information and emotional care, but do not override the patient's wishes
A competent adult's right to refuse treatment is absolute in UK law, even if the refusal leads to death. The family has no legal authority to override this decision. You should support the family emotionally, explain the patient's right to autonomy, and ensure the patient receives appropriate palliative care.
You are a foundation year doctor and witness a senior colleague performing a procedure without proper consent. According to GMC guidance, what should you do?
Answer: Raise the concern — GMC guidance states that all doctors have a duty to raise concerns about patient safety regardless of the seniority of the person involved, through appropriate channels
GMC guidance (Raising and Acting on Concerns) requires all doctors to raise concerns about patient safety, regardless of the seniority of the person involved. You should raise it with the colleague first if safe to do so, then escalate through clinical governance, patient safety teams, or external whistleblowing channels if necessary.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Health and Welfare is activated. When does this LPA take effect?
Answer: Only when the person (donor) loses capacity to make the specific decision in question
An LPA for Health and Welfare only takes effect when the donor lacks capacity to make the specific decision. While the person retains capacity, they make their own decisions. An LPA for Property and Finance can take effect while the person has capacity if they choose. All LPAs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.
A researcher approaches you about recruiting your patients for a clinical trial. What ethical principles must be followed according to the Declaration of Helsinki and UK research governance?
Answer: Voluntary informed consent is essential, participants must understand the risks and benefits, they can withdraw at any time, the research must have ethical approval (REC), and patient welfare must always take precedence over the interests of science
The Declaration of Helsinki and UK Research Governance Framework require: voluntary informed consent, ethical approval from a Research Ethics Committee (REC), the right to withdraw at any time, that patient welfare takes precedence over research interests, and that vulnerable groups receive additional protection.