M.Sc. (N), Mental Health Nursing

1. Submitted by:
Snehal kapadiya
Iv year b.sc nursing
B.m.c.b college of nursing
Lakhond, bhuj

2. INTRODUCTION

3. Legal aspects in nursing
Knowledge of legal aspects in
nursing is absolutely essential for each nurse
to safeguard self and patients from legal
complications. Consumers are becoming
increasingly aware of their legal rights in
health care. it is essential, therefore that a
nurse should know her/his legal and
professional boundaries, and the
consequences of nonconformity.

4. Legal terms related to practice,
registration and licensing
Legal papers are often used in
nursing practice and court actions are
always a possibility. Knowledge of
legal terms will help you to maintain
standards of practice and good
professional relationships with the
health team.

5. Legal responsibility
In nursing practice it means the
way in which you are obligated to obey
the law in professional activities.
Disobedience of the law results in
punishment. Legal responsibility is
stated and enforced by law.

6. Guides for legal responsibilities
-Such guides include the following:
 Central and state government acts
 International code of nurses
 Institutional rules and regulations
 Standing orders and precedents or an example of
what court decision has been made in a similar
case
 Central government services conduct rules
 State nursing council’s conduct rules and
disciplinary actions

7. There are certain determinants of the
legal framework for nursing practice in
India.
Registration/licensing:
Licensing is a mandatory procedure
for the practice of nursing. Registration
aims at protecting patients by providing
qualified nurses. The nurse is
responsible to obtain registration in the
respective state nursing home act.

8.  Legal liability/acts of negligence under Indian
penal code:
It falls under section 304 of the Indian
penal code (IPC) (eg., for wrong medication
leading to death of the patient). So, it is important
that a nurse is a careful while administering
medication and follows all the seven ‘R’s every
time.
(i.e., right patient, right medicine, right
dose, right route, right time, right reason and right
Documentation).

9. Now a days there are 12 ‘R’s are there, which
includes:
-right to refuse
-right to evaluation
-right to expiration date
-right to education
-right to assessment
It is also taken up as a tort in civil court.

10. TORT:
It is a type of civil wrong
committed by one person that inflicts injury
on another or there is physical, emotional,
or economic harm which may also results
in a tort.

11. Medicolegal cases (MLC):
A medicolegal case or a patient
who is admitted to the hospital with
some unnatural pathology. The MLC
case has to be taken care of in
concurrence with the police and/or court.

12. REGISTRATION AND LICENSING:
Registration and licensing is a
compulsory for nurses who have completed
their training, whether they wish to work in
India or abroad. Nurses must register
themselves with their SNCs, i.e., in
Karnataka, registration is done by the
Karnataka state nursing council.

13. A register of names of
professional nurses is maintained by
each state nurse’s registration council.
These names will be put into the Indian
nurses register which is maintained by
INC. the registration serves as a legal
protection to the nurses and protects the
public from incomplete nursing practice.

14. The state nurses registration councils
Every state has a nurse’s registration
council in India. They are responsible to
recognize and license the nurses who are
graduated. It is responsibility of each nurse to
register in their respective state nurse
registration council after graduation. Each
state nurses registration council acts
autonomously after establishment of INC in
the year 1949.

15. There are some functions of sate nursing
councils.
 Education: prescribing regulations and
syllabi for the various training courses.
 Examination: recognizing examination
bodies and negotiating reciprocity.
 Accreditation: accrediting and
inspecting schools/ colleges of nursing
in their state

16.  Disciplinary: prescribes rules of
conduct, take disciplinary action,
etc.
 Registration: maintain registers of
professional nurses and other
nursing personnel.

17. PROCEDURE OF REGISTRATION
 Registration is usually initiated by
nursing school/college itself.
 Successful completion of a recognized
programme of nursing education and
passing the qualifying examination quality
one to register in the council.

18.  The examining authority will
issue a diploma, which must then be sent
with copies and a properly filled out
application form to the register for the
state nurses registration council in the
states.

19.  Application of registration in a
foreign country is cancelled
through the state nurse’s
registration council.

20.  This is usually done by the nursing
administration in the school.
 The state registration certificate
will be given along with the
registration number.

21. THE LEGAL‘TERMS’ INCLUDED IN
PRACTICE, REGISTRATIONAND
LICENSING:
Act:
An act is a written law which has
been formally passed by the
government.

22. Bill:
The bill is a draft, or temporary
outline, of what the act will be. Nurses
who represent the nursing profession can
participate in drafting a bill.
Legal document:
A legal document is an accurately
written factual statement which has been
signed and dated by the person who has
prepared the document.

23. Contract:
A contract is an agreement
between two parties to do certain things.
A contract is always considered a legal
document if it is in written form.
Will:
A will is also called testament; it
is a written statement of what person
wants done with property and
possessions after death.

24. Summons:
A summons is a written
notice which serves to call you to
appear in court.
Crime:
A forbidden act is that
which is punished by law; or an
omission of something required by
law.

25. Defendant:
The person who is accused and
must answer for his/her actions in a
legal suit.
Malpractice:
A failure in professional duty, skill
or practice that leads to injury or harm
to the patient.

26. It is a type of professional liability
based on negligence and includes
professional misconduct, breach of a duty or
standard of care, illegal or immoral conduct
or failure to exercise reasonable skill, all of
which leads to harm.
It is more Sirius than mere
negligence because it indicates professional
misconduct or unreasonable lack of skill in
performing professional duties.

27.  For example,
Leaving foreign objects inside
the patient’s body during operation.
Narcotic law:
A specific law which controls
the purchasing and giving out of
narcotic drugs.

28. Wrongdoing:
An act that is unfair, unjust or
hurts another person.

29. Negligence:
It is the failure to meet an
ordinary standard of care, resulting in
injury to the patient or plaintiff.
Malpractice is one example of negligence.
eg., therapies error resulting in phlebitis.
Plaintiff:
The accuser or complaining
person in a legal suit.

30. Torts
Definition:
A tort is a type of civil wrong
committed by one person that inflicts
injury on another or there is physical,
emotional or economic harm which may
also result in tort.

31.  Intentional torts
 Unintentional torts
 Specific torts

32. Intentional torts:
They are deliberate or willful actions in
which the intent is to cause injury to a
person or property: assault, battery, false
imprisonment and trespass.
Assault:
It is an attempt (or) intentional threat to
make harmful or offensive contact with
another individual, eg, threat to give
injection when a client refused consent.

33. Battery:
Battery is any intentional touching without
consent. A battery always includes an assault,
eg., touching the patients private parts for a
procedure without taking consent.
False imprisonment:
If a person is made to stay in a place
against his/her wish, it is called as false
imprisonment. In which the person is
restrained against his/her will.

34.  In false imprisonment, the
person is detained confined (or)
restrained against his/her will.
 A common eg. Of assault and
battery is; performance of operation
without the patient’s consent.

35. Trespass:
It is an unauthorized entry onto
another person’s land, (or) unauthorized
handling of another person’s personal
property.
The use of restraints is not considered
as false imprisonment onment when they
are used to maintain the safety of
confused or disoriented patients.

36. Unintentional torts:
These are accidents that cause
injury to another person or property.
They involve failure or a breach of
nursing duties that lead to harm.
-This will includes-
 Negligence
 Malpractice
 Abandonment

37. Abandonment:
It is a type of professional liability
based on negligence and includes professional
misconduct, breach of a duty or standards of
care, illegal or immoral conduct or failure to
exercise reasonable skill, all of which lead to
harm.
It is more Sirius than mere
negligence because it indicates professional
misconduct or unreasonable lack of skill in
performing professional duties.

38. Specific torts:
These involve situations of
communication and often violet a
person’s reputation, personal privacy or
civil rights.
-It includes:
 Invasion of privacy
 Defamation

39. Invasion of privacy:
It involves the violation of a
person’s rights to privacy.
for eg., disclosing information
on patient’s that misrepresents the
patient’s condition.

40. Defamation:
It is composed of two torts:
-Slander, which is oral defamation
-A spoken communication
In which one person discusses
with another with the intension to harm a
third person’s reputation.

41. For eg., if a doctor tells a patient
that a nurse is incompetent in giving care
the doctor, or writes a comment to this
effect, could be held liable for slander.