What do surgeons want to know about clinical law?

Abstract

Introduction: what do surgeons want to know about law pertaining to their practice? We have found nothing in the literature to address this subject. We present evidence to answer our question.

Methods: retrospective review was conducted of all enquires to a clinical law service in a university hospital between 2009 and 2023. Each ‘case’ originating from a surgeon was categorised according to its fundamental legal phenotype.

Results a total of 1,476 enquiries relating to clinical law were received from the clinical workforce in the hospital and the region. Of these, 154 enquiries (13%) were made by surgeons representing all 10 specialty groups and dentistry. The largest groups of enquiries related to professional conduct (n=49), competence/capacity (n=33), consent (n=23) and refusal of treatment (n=23). The incidence of the surgical enquiries relating to refusal of care, consent, standards of care and capacity mirrored those made by non-surgical specialties. The surgical enquiries concerning confidentiality, candour and withdrawal of treatment were notably infrequent. We discuss the detail of some of the clinical scenarios arising from these enquiries that reveal the breadth and depth of legal complexities faced by surgeons of all specialties.

Conclusions: patterns or phenotypes of surgical legal dilemmas have emerged that could provide a framework for preparing surgeons to deal better with the patient in front of them. Enquiries indicative of what surgeons want to know suggest gaps in surgical legal knowledge that may be a focus of future education. Near-absence of enquiries in candour and confidentiality are notable, without immediate explanation.

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ORCID for N.J. Hall: orcid.org/0000-0001-8570-9374

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