Situation of the Incapacitated in Granting Consent to Medical Treatment. Selected Issues

Abstract

A basic right of each 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. A possibility of using the right of self-determination becomes complicated in the situation of incapacitated patients. The article presents the situation of the incapacitated in the process of granting consent to medical treatment. Particular attention has been paid to the situation of a partially incapacitated patient. The presented reflections lead us to conclude that under Polish legislation, the incapacitated patient is not completely deprived of the possibility of expressing his will. It is also important that the right of selfdetermination of an incapacitated patient should be respected by the physician throughout the entire treatment. The whole discussion aims at presenting the scope of autonomy of incapacitated patients in the context of substitute and double consent.