Decision making for refusals of treatment—a framework to consider

Abstract

Challenges to practice are encountered on a daily basis by paramedics that often share many common recurring themes around consent or refusal to treatment. The benefits of training and open debate acknowledge the often complex decisions relating to consent and mental capacity and reduce opportunities for future legal challenge. How the law should be integrated into everyday decision making will be examined and a framework proposed to assist practice for defendable decision making. This article was inspired following joint training undertaken with paramedics and local critical incident managers from the police, which highlighted a need for a practical decision-making framework to be available for application during incidents and for use as an analytical tool to aid post-decision reflection and learning at debrief.