Getting the Balance Right: Medical Futility, Scientific Advancement, and the Role of Law.

The concept of medical futility as an applied ethical framework has seen a rise and fall in its popularity over the last 30 years. It is a term used in relation to the assessment of a patient's health condition that is deemed untreatable, irreversible, and unresolvable. In four recent cases, Gard, Evans, Haastrup, and Raqeeb, the concept has been brought to the fore once again. These cases highlight a mounting tension between clinicians and families. Parental desires to see their child's treatment continued, while understandable, should not dominate treatment planning. This article analyses judicial interpretation of the factors which determine an assessment of futility and in doing so, argues that the role of medical futility in judicial decisions of this kind is gaining prominence and will continue to do so as scientific advancement blurs the limits of medicine even further.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012: The emergence of equal treatment for mental health care or another false dawn?

Although the National Health Service (NHS) is regarded as a national treasure, it is no longer immune from the colossal financial pressures brought about by global recession. Economic sustainability has largely driven the reform process leading to the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2012, however; other considerations have also played a role in the journey to turn the health and social care service into an institution which is fit for the 21st-century needs. This article examines the impact of the HSCA 2012 on those made vulnerable through mental ill health. It then considers three issues: First, whether parity between mental and physical health can have life beyond political rhetoric; second, what impact driving up efficiency within the NHS will have upon mental health patients; and finally, the extent to which the personalisation agenda can be meaningfully applied within the mental health context.

The age of risk: risk perception and determination following the Mental Health Act 2007.

Reforms to the mental health law framework for England and Wales, which were introduced by the Mental Health Act 2007, are now having a practical effect on day-to-day mental health decision-making. The 2007 Act amends the Mental Health Act 1983, which governs the compulsory hospitalisation and treatment of people with mental disorder; and represents the culmination of a protracted and controversial reform process which has spanned much of the last 15 years. One of the key foci in the 2007 Act is the question of the risk posed by the patient, primarily to others; a result of both the social and political impetus behind the reform process and mounting public anxiety at the management of the mentally disordered. The new Act seeks, as with past legislation, to find the elusive balance between protecting and facilitating the individual's autonomy while also providing an effective framework for the wider public right to protection. The 2007 Act solidifies the dominance of risk by providing a legitimating framework in which risk can be assessed, monitored, and managed. This attitudinal change is demonstrated by the gradual and almost insidious adoption of risk terminology within the practical decision-making setting and the increasing use of risk assessment and management tools. This article is informed by an empirical study which examined individual professional and institutional responses to the mental health legislation in relation to risk. It examines whether the amended legislative framework amplifies risk as an increasingly dominant concern within decision-making. The paper then goes on to consider how decision-makers use risk to assist with their daily roles. Extrapolated from data obtained through the study, several models of risk determination are then discussed. Finally, some thought is given to whether the extension of the risk concept has the potential to become more fundamental within the organisation and legitimisation of mental health care.