Ethical and legal issues

• describe the principles and legal issues surrounding informed consent
• seek valid consent from patients and know how to deal with under 16s and vulnerable adults
• recognise the importance of maintaining confidentiality and when it can be broken
• recall the Sexual Offences Act (and its equivalent in Scotland) and know when to involve social services and the police
• complete a death certificate and know when to refer to the coroner or the procurator fiscal
• discuss the abortion certificates for England and Scotland and the legal issues affecting individuals who will not participate in abortion services for moral and religious reasons
• recognise the importance of the NHS insurance criteria in all the different countries in the UK
• describe the duty care of a doctor outlined by the Francis report, 2013
• explain the four principle approaches to medical ethics and the ethics associated with assisted conception and fertility.

Mr Antony Hollingworth FRCOG (2010, 2013, 2016)

Mr Hollingworth is a Consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Whipps Cross University Hospital Trust, London.

Dr Mehrnoosh Aref-Adib MRCOG (2016)

Dr Connie Pidgeon DRCOG (2016)

This course is intended to help clinicians gain core knowledge for O&G training and the MRCOG examinations. It can also be used by O&G consultants to refresh their knowledge of the area or for teaching.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Obtaining valid consent. Clinical Governance Advice No.6. 3rd ed. London: RCOG Press; 2015.