Parental responsibility: A legal perspective

Parental responsibility is often discussed in relation to the care and treatment of children–but what is parental responsibility? Who has it and what does it allow the person who has it to do? This commentary aims to answer these questions from a legal perspective. As with many issues regarding children, it is not surprising that it is the Children Act 1989 that provides legislative guidance on the subject of parental responsibility

Confidentiality: the legal issues

Confidentiality is a fundamental principle of nursing practice that underpins the nurse’s relationship with their patients. It is a principle that combines both legal rules and ethical standards. This article examines the legal and ethical basis of confidentiality and provides guidance for those nursing children

Fraser guidelines or Gillick competence?

Fraser guidelines, Gillick competence; phrases that anyone involved in the care of children will have heard. However, there is often confusion regarding the meaning of these two terms and they are frequently used as substitutes for each other, as if they were interchangeable rather than two distinct but related terms

Children's bodies: the battleground for their rights?

The UNCRC has changed profoundly ideas about adult/child relationships and there is now an acknowledgment in both law and policy that children have a right to be consulted and to participate in decisions made about their lives. This has been widely discussed and critiqued and one of the most significant battlegrounds for debate has been children’s rights to consent or refuse medical treatment and the issue of exactly who has the right to control children’s bodies. This article will compare several cases where the English and Scottish courts have made various decisions and rulings about the extent to which children do have rights to control their bodies. It will question why, twenty years after the UK ratified the UNCRC, children are still considered incompetent in matters concerning their own bodies, unless proved otherwise, while adults are automatically considered competent unless shown not to be and will analyse whether this situation is compatible with a children’s rights agenda

Information sharing in e-government initiatives: Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues concerning local government

In e-government initiatives, the sharing of information is crucial for empowering citizens and boosting joined-up services. The lack of clear guidance on how to share government data can potentially harm Freedom of Information and or Data Protection rights. This article addresses this issue by drawing from the main concerns governments have when dealing with Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues. As illustration, we comment on the findings of a case study we have conducted in a Local Authority in the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show that local government managers might be struggling to adequately implement Freedom of Information and Data Protection aspects. Cultural aspects are subtly present in this context, as managers’ values and beliefs regarding public access to information might be biased toward either information disclosure or information withholding

Refusing, or being unable, to provide consent

An earlier article (Cornock 2014) discussed what consent is, the legal principles of consent and the ways in which consent provides self-determination for patients. This article will expand upon this by examining the situation when patients refuse to provide consent, or are unable to do so

Not another missed opportunity: regulation of health care professionals

On the 1st March 2012 The Law Commission published proposals for reform of health care professional (HCPs) within the United Kingdom (Law Commission 2012). These proposals are part of a consultation on changes the way that HCPs are regulated. Various consultation exercises, government reports and public inquiries have criticised aspects of the regulation of HCPs and made recommendations for change in recent years. This article examines the efficacy of the regulation of healthcare professionals

Editorial: The tenth anniversary issue

A history of the Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education and examination of current articles

Awareness into Action (A2A): a tool for making decisions about professionalism on social media

Introduction The rapid diffusion of social network sites such as Facebook have presented a wealth of challenge and opportunity for the nursing profession. A large majority of nurses have adopted Facebook but may not understand the implications and unintended consequences of the information shared in a personal or innocent way. No research has yet critically analysed or explained [in depth] the underlying factors that influence and determine the relationships between professional accountability and social media. Or if there is actually a 'problem' with social media, and if there is how we can address it? Aim Explain the relationship between professionalism and online behaviours in social media, and produce a framework to guide decision making relating to e-professionalism. Methods Critical realist (CR) ethnography employing online observation of three online groups, 30 public profiles and professional group discussion topics, focus groups (academic and practising nursing staff n=8) and semi-structured interviews with student nurses over two geographical sites (n=16). CR retroductive analysis (developed as part of this project) was employed to identify: relationships, models, theories and framework(s) in the data. Theories were ‘tested’ using the models and consequently used to confirm the most likely explanations in response to the project aim. Results Three relationships were identified a) how we define professional accountability, b) how we use and behave on Facebook and c) how we determine what is professional and acceptable in the online environment. Six diagrammatic models were generated to explain [within the data] the interaction of different components (e.g. people, places, structures) and possible causal mechanisms of these relationships: 1) the concept of professional accountability 2) patterns of use 3) behaviours and activities 4) physical versus online reality 5) unacceptable, acceptable, professional or unprofessional behaviours 6) perceived knowledge and awareness versus actual behaviours. Three theories informed the development of the final, evidence based Awareness to Action (A2A) framework: socialisation & social capital, diffusion of innovations and experiential learning theory. Conclusion Lack of physical context and presence in the online environment causes dissonance between perceived and actual behaviours, and confidence versus competence in the online environment. Emotional, political and mass media triggers changes to behaviours and perceptions about what is deemed to be unprofessional. There are also inconsistencies in what professionals believe to be professional and acceptable, what action [if any] should be taken and in what circumstances. The A2A tool enables professionals to make consistent and evidence based decisions about online behaviours