This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by McHale, J. Articles by Mason, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by McHale, J. Articles by Mason, I. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The UK Human Rights Act 1998: implications for nurses

University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

Ann Gallagher

Middlesex University, London, UK

Isobel Mason

Royal Free Hospital, London, UK

In this article we consider some of the implications of the UK Human Rights Act 1998 for nurses in practice. The Act has implications for all aspects of social life in Britain, particularly for health care. We provide an introduction to the discourse of rights in health care and discuss some aspects of four articles from the Act. The reciprocal relationship between rights and obligations prompted us to consider also the relationship between guidelines in the United Kingdom Central Council’s Code of professional conduct and the requirements of the Human Rights Act 1998. We conclude with the recommendation that the new legislation should be welcomed for its potential to support good practice and to urge critical and reflective practice rather than as yet another burdensome bureaucratic imposition.

Key Words: ethics • Human Rights Act • nursing

Nursing Ethics, Vol. 8, No. 3, 223-233 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/096973300100800307


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?