Giving adequate advice to the patient and obtaining a valid consent before treatment is a vital part of clinical practice. With the recent change to the legal standard for a valid consent coming on the heels of the new ethical standards for documentation of advice and consent, doctors need to be clear in their minds about the difference between a valid consent and the documentation of consent.
It is also necessary to consider assessment of capacity for consent, whilst keeping in mind broader issues of the nature of proposed interventions, and acting in the patient’s best interest. Do any of the recent Court and Singapore Medical Council disciplinary cases provide any illustration to assist us in our understanding of the difference and the relationship between the two?
Speakers
Lek Siang Pheng, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Siang Pheng is a lawyer and a partner in the firm of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP. He is an Honorary Legal Advisor to the Academy of Medicine Singapore, College of Family Physicians Singapore and Singapore Medical Association. He has been on the teaching faculty of the MOH/SMA course on Ethics & Professionalism for Advanced Specialist Trainees / Senior Residents for many years, and is a member of the core faculty for the AMS/SMA/SAL/LSS Medical Expert Witness Training course since its inception.
Aside from a civil and commercial litigation and arbitration practice, he also specializes in medicolegal work. He has been involved in medicolegal matters since 1989, starting with representation of healthcare institutions, both in the public and private sectors. He has also acted as counsel for the various medical defence organizations and indemnity providers for doctors and dentists. He has advised and represented doctors, dentists and healthcare institutions on legal, regulatory and ethical issues, and also defended them in malpractice cases before the Courts and Singapore Medical Council Disciplinary Tribunals.
Dr Habeebul Rahman, Department of Psychological Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Dr Habeebul is a Senior Consultant and Head of the Tan Tock Seng Department of Psychological Medicine. He is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and has a Diploma in Psychotherapy, which is his area of interest. He has been appointed to the Board of Visitors to The Office of the Public Guardian, and is also Assistant Professor at YLL NUS School of Medicine and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Prior to attaining specialist accreditation, he completed a thesis on resilience within doctors, and serves as Chairperson of TTSH's peer support programme. He is also a faculty member of the Singapore Medical Association Centre for Medical Ethics and Professionalism.
Khoo Yingxiang, Head, Mediation Unit, MOH Holdings Pte Ltd
Yingxiang graduated from NUS Law School in 2006. She practiced as a pro bono lawyer specializing in charities at Allen & Gledhill LLP for 6½ years. She left A&G in 2014 to pursue her interests in medical disputes and clinical ethics, graduating with a Masters in Medical Ethics and Law from King’s College London in 2015. She is currently Head of the MOH Holdings Healthcare Mediation Unit.
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