Negligence and prescribing

This article will look at the civil law of negligence and how a patient may bring a case against you as a non-medical prescriber (NMP). Negligence is a tort and has been developed in English law under common law provisions. A tort is derived from the Norman French word meaning ‘wrong' and is now legally defined as a civil wrong. If a member of the public, such as a patient, feels that a tort has been committed against them, then they might seek re-dress from the civil courts. The civil court's decisions are based on judicial decisions in previous case law. To launch a successful claim into negligence, it is necessary to prove the following:

The plaintiff must first establish that the defendant owed them a legal duty of care. In medical negligence, the existence of a duty owed to the patient is usually regarded as automatic, even if the patient has left the hospital. A duty of care appears to be owed as soon as the patient presents for treatment. This was established by the case Donoghue v Stephenson (1932), in which the House of Lords held, for the first time in this country, that there could be liability for negligently causing personal injury. In this case, a woman claimed damages after drinking ginger beer from a bottle that was contaminated by a decomposing snail. The manufacturer argued that, as there was no contract with Mrs Donoghue, because she had not bought the drink, there was no duty of care towards her. However, the court held that in law we owe a duty of care to our neighbours, whom the court described as: ‘persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act or omission that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omission in questions’. A capable adult patient can absolve you of your duty by refusing the treatment you offer.