Consent 'vital' for drug doses
Tuesday, 02 Oct 2007 17:44
Patients must give their consent to medicine
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Consent must be obtained before giving people drugs, the Alzheimer's Society has said.
The charity believes that permission should be given by patients suffering from illnesses like Alzheimer's disease or from their relatives if that is not possible.
Its comments come in response to a case brought before the Scottish parliament which is campaigning against drugs being given 'covertly' in patients' food and drink in care homes.
Hunter Watson from Aberdeen raised the issue after believing that his mother had been sedated at a nursing home without her consent.
Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said that under the Mental Capacity Act if someone "has the capacity to understand that they need the medication" then "they have the right to refuse the medication and it can't be administered legally in any way".
"I think in some situations, for example somebody with severe Alzheimer's disease who might not realise that they need that medication and might spit out medications or other things, there might be situations where they won't be aware of it and if it's not administered in that type of way then you'd be depriving somebody of a potentially life-saving drug," he told the Today programme.
But Mr Ballard stressed: "Medication should only be administered in that kind of way if there's no other reasonable way of doing it, and if it's clearly in somebody's best interests and fully discussed with the family."