There are cases where medical care can be provided to patients without their personal consent. Such cases include:
1) the provision of medical care to incapacitated or disabled persons;
2) provision of medical assistance to minors;
3) provision of medical assistance to unconscious persons;
4) provision of medical assistance to patients with fainting spells or other unstable psycho-emotional states (this also includes elderly people);
5) treating persons who are under the influence of sedatives or other medications that affect mental capacity and attention span;
6) in certain cases, medical care for persons with physical disabilities, depending on the type of physical disability.
Most countries have a system whereby a guardian or legal Most countries have a system according to which a guardian or legal representative has the right to make decisions on behalf of a person declared incompetent by a court or limited legal capacity. Depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances, medical medical professionals have the right to forcibly send a person to a treatment facility for treatment.
Compulsory treatment actions can be applied in cases where a person is in danger of harming himself/herself or others. Very often questions arise regarding the establishment of guardianship and involuntary hospitalization, as these processes involve the relinquishment of personal autonomy in decision-making. It is very important that this system be formal and transparent, with procedural security safeguards to ensure and maintain rights and freedoms. An example of procedural safeguards for involuntary hospitalization is the possibility to appeal such actions in court.
Persons deprived of their liberty
Persons deprived of their liberty in need of treatment are very often victims of violations of their rights as patients. Persons deprived of their liberty have the same rights as other patients, namely
The right to refuse treatment, the right to informed consent, the right to privacy and confidentiality, and the right to information. They have the right to refuse treatment, including the right to abortion and medical testing. Carrying out such procedures without obtaining informed consent is considered coercion and a violation of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty to refuse treatment. An exception to the right to refuse treatment in prison is the prevention and control of infectious diseases and the treatment of mental disorders and conditions.
Both rights have certain conditions and must be implemented in accordance with international standards. Persons deprived of their liberty include representatives of vulnerable groups with special
The persons deprived of their liberty include disadvantaged groups with special needs, namely prisoners with mental disabilities, elderly persons as well as prisoners with incurable illnesses. These vulnerable sub-groups of prisoners may need special attention in order to secure and exercise their rights.
Women
Women are considered particularly vulnerable when it comes to violations of their rights in receiving medical care. For example, Human Rights Watch has documented cases of of medication neglect of pregnant women during a visit to South Africa:
Blatant violations of women’s rights include questioning or ignoring women’s needs when they feel pain, especially during childbirth, unreasonable delays in medical treatment, cases where women are left alone without any accusing women of disobeying the instructions of nurses who want to harm Women are accused of not following instructions from nurses who want to harm their babies, verbal abuse and humiliating treatment, such as women being forced to wipe their blood behind them or being intimidated and threatened with harm.
Physical violence included hitting in the face, pinching, rough treatment, and deliberate refusal to provide pain medication.
Other examples of violations of women’s rights to health care were also observed: limitation of independent and autonomous access to sexual and reproductive services, forced sterilization and contraception, and physical and sexual violence by health care providers. Violence and abuse of women in facilities that provide sexual and reproductive health services reinforces stigma and discrimination against women, and deprives their human dignity.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health said: “Stigma and discrimination against women belonging to vulnerable populations, including women with disabilities and women living with HIV/AIDS, have made members of these communities significantly more vulnerable to such abuses.” The UN Special Rapporteur on the Supply of Drinking Water explained this by saying that “stigma, by its very nature, is a very degrading phenomenon, contrary to human dignity.