Wicks Elizabeth
Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Br J Nurs. 2009;18(19):1192-3. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2009.18.19.44829.
The question of whether a patient can rely upon a right to treatment in the courts is a topical and controversial one. This article provides a short summary of the current law on this issue and concludes that, while there is no substantive right to treatment as such, the courts are increasingly willing to enforce procedural requirements onto those bodies that make funding decisions. These procedural requirements seek to ensure that each patient is assessed on the basis of his or her individual clinical needs. Blanket policies against funding particular treatments are not permitted, but neither are funding decisions based on exceptional personal (non-clinical) circumstances. Individual clinical needs are always relevant and must be taken into account. Provided that the body making funding decisions satisfies this requirement, the courts will be reluctant to intervene with decisions about the provision of medical treatment.
患者能否在法庭上主张获得治疗的权利这一问题是当前备受关注且颇具争议的。本文简要总结了关于此问题的现行法律，并得出结论：虽然不存在实质性的治疗权利本身，但法院越来越愿意对那些做出资金决策的机构施加程序要求。这些程序要求旨在确保根据每位患者的个体临床需求进行评估。不允许针对特定治疗的全面拒绝资助政策，但基于特殊个人（非临床）情况的资助决策也不被允许。个体临床需求始终相关且必须予以考虑。只要做出资金决策的机构满足这一要求，法院就不太愿意干预关于医疗服务提供的决策。
