KIULJ Volume. 5, Issue 1 (2023)

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Contributor(s)

Mary Arthur-Jolasinmi & Agbo Friday Ojonugwa
 

Keywords

Medical ethics Legal ethics Anaesthesiology Medical practice Legal practice
 

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An Assessment Of The Ethical And Legal Dilemma In The Practice Of Anaesthesiology: The Nigerian Perspective

Abstract: The practice of medicine intersects with the legal system in two important ways. The ethical code establishes the framework of permissible conduct, through regulation, while the legal system provides patients and other entities recourse when these regulations are breached. Anaesthesia is a branch of Medicine and Anaesthesiologists care for patients at the extremes of health and illness, frequently employing life-sustaining technologies and procedures to restore health. Patients have widely recognised right to reject life-sustaining procedures that may be in conflict with the tradition of physician paternalism and authoritarianism derived from virtue-based ethics. This naturally leads to high expectations among the general public from the Anaesthesiologists. In the past, patients used to subject themselves to surgery after signing a simple willingness form, but in the present scenario, if any catastrophe occurs, it grabs news headlines, negligence is suspected by the general public. There has been a rising trend in medical negligence cases that the services provided by an anaesthesiologist come under the apprehension standard of care, protocols by which anaesthesiologists should abide to avoid legal consequences. This paper examines emerging ethical issues since the establishment of anaesthesia as a branch of medicine. The paper adopts the doctrinal methodology of research by examining primary and secondary sources related to the discourse. The paper further recommends adequate medical information by way of educating patients on their rights before any medical procedure among others.
 
 
 

Kampala International University Law Journal (KIULJ), ISSN: 2519-9501, 2024