Throughout the summer we tested your knowledge of advance decisions with a medico-legal quiz based on popular guidance and advice from our website.
Find out the answers below and take a look at the guidance on which each question was based.
How old does a patient need to be in order to make an advance decision?
- At least 16
- At least 18 (correct answer)
- At least 21
Patients who make an advance decision should review it with a healthcare professional:
- Every year
- Every 3 years
- There is no requirement to review an advance decision (correct answer)
For guidance, see Advance decisions: legal update.
If an advance decision relates to refusal of life-sustaining treatment, the decision must:
- Be made in writing (correct answer)
- Be discussed with the patient’s GP
- Clearly state which treatment the patient wants to refuse (correct answer)
- Be signed and witnessed (correct answer)
- Be discussed with the patient’s close family
An advance decision will not be applicable to the treatment in question if:
- It is not the treatment specified in the advance decision (correct answer)
- The circumstances are different from those set out in the advance decisions (correct answer)
- The patient has acted in a way that is clearly inconsistent with the advance decision (correct answer)
- There are reasonable grounds for believing that there have been changes in circumstances which would have affected a patient’s advance decision (correct answer)
For guidance, see Mental Capacity Act.
Do all advance decisions need to be made in writing?
For guidance, see Decision to refuse treatment.
In the case ‘An advance decision to refuse antibiotic treatment’ a GP member contacted the MDU about the validity of an advance decision. In the outcome, was the GP satisfied that the patient did not have capacity?
Read the full case study in the
MDU app.
This guidance was correct at publication 22/10/2019. It is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.