Description
It is recognised that medical litigation is increasing
in the UK and that practicing doctors need to minimise risk
of legal action to them. Informed consent is a major factor
in surgical practice but even anecdotal evidence of a full
explanation of procedures by a surgeon is no defence if evidence
of an explanation is absent from the clinical notes. We aimed
to retrospectively analyse our practice in patients undergoing
major ear surgery over a recent 22-month period. Results were
not encouraging but new methods of documentation have been
instituted and the audit will be repeated after a similar
case- load in approximately two years. Legal issues affecting
medical practice are discussed in detail.
