Sytuacja osób ubezwłasnowolnionych w procesie wyrażania zgody na zabieg medyczny. Wybrane zagadnienia

Abstract

A basic right of every patient is the right to grant consent to medical treatment. A doctor cannot act without the knowledge and will of a patient. Contrary behaviour is treated as illegal. Use of the right to self-determination becomes complicated when the patient is incapacitated and this article presents the process of granting consent to medical treatment when this situation arises. Particular attention has been paid to describe the situation of a partially incapacitated patient. The reflections presented lead to the conclusion that under Polish legislation, an incapacitated patient is not completely deprived of the possibility of expressing their will. It is also important that the right to self-determination of an incapacitated patient should be respected by the physician throughout the entire term of treatment. The whole discussion aims at presenting the scope of the autonomy of incapacitated patients in the context of substitute consent and double consent.