Griffith Richard
Br J Nurs. 2014;23(4):234-5. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2014.23.4.234.
The courts have long established that nurses are in a duty situation and owe a duty of care to their patients (Kent v Griffiths [2001]). Traditionally, the profession set the standard of care and nurses were required to act in accordance with a practice accepted by a responsible body of their peers (Bolam v Friern HMC [1957]).The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 gave rise to a positive obligation on government to ensure that laws, policies and procedures are in place to protect violations of human rights. Nurses must now inform their practice with relevant statute law, common law and professional standards in order to properly discharge their duty of care. Richard Griffith considers the law that now underpins a nurse's duty of care and uses a recent report from the Health Service Ombudsman for England to illustrate the obligations that underpin the nurse-patient relationship.
长期以来，法院一直认定护士处于职责情形之中，并且对其患者负有注意义务（肯特诉格里菲思案[2001]）。传统上，该职业设定了护理标准，并且要求护士按照其同行中负责机构所认可的惯例行事（博勒姆诉弗里恩医院管理委员会案[1957]）。1998年《人权法案》的出台产生了一项政府的积极义务，即确保制定法律、政策和程序以保护人权不受侵犯。护士现在必须依据相关的成文法、普通法和专业标准来开展工作，以便妥善履行其注意义务。理查德·格里菲思考量了如今作为护士注意义务基础的法律，并利用英国国民医疗服务体系申诉专员最近的一份报告来说明支撑护患关系的义务。
