Law and Ethical Issues in Health Care

Running head: LAW AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 1
Law and Ethical Issues in Health Care
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

LAW AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 2
Introduction
Ethics is also called philosophical morality. It is an embodiment of philosophy dictating
the actions of human beings (Miraghaei, Shabani, & Shabani, 2014). Ethics quest to judge what
is wrong and right about an action. Furthermore, the moral values are systematic in its defense
and recommendation on an individual's conduct. Ethics offer solutions to the ethical questions
that a society might have concerning critical issues. The philosophical branch explains the
meaning of evil and ethical behavior.
Laws refer to the regulations and principles that govern a given community, country, or
region (Lim et al., 2015). The Australian authorities formulate the rules, and the citizens must
follow the doctrines. Laws and ethics differ slightly but share a majority of principles. Laws are
permanent regardless of the situation at hand. However, ethical concepts are flexible and can
transform to match with the current scenario.
This essay will discuss the relevance and application of Australian laws and ethical
values in Tim's case study. The paper will discuss the moral principles and theories, explaining
their use to the case study. Moreover, the essay will focus on Australian legal issues in
healthcare.
The relationship between ethics and law
The two commands are essential for health practitioners, whenever they are in their line
of duty. The therapeutic interdependency between clinicians and the patients is a critical part of
healthcare delivery in health facilities. An Australian practitioner who adheres to the laws and
ethical issues about medical attention builds a healthy relationship with the client (Johnstone,
2015). At the long run, efficient use of the two pillars improves the quality of healthcare.
Therefore, nurses must observe ethical reasoning and the laws of the Australia in the treatment

LAW AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 3
procedures (Strang, & Braithwaite, 2017). The case study will look at the legal and ethical issues
and how the two relate to the case study of Tim.
Tim is 32 years of age; he has a dislocated shoulder. Additionally, Tim has bruises on the
upper part of his body and all over his face. He has also suffered from lacerations of the scalp
which has opened deep wounds. Tim got injured when he got into a fight at a football game
played over the weekend. The emergency department of the hospital performed surgery on him
since his condition was worsening by the day. After the surgical procedures, Tim began to
indicate irrelevant symptoms such as violence, rudeness towards the nurses, and aggressive
behaviors.
The medical practitioners related the change in behavior to the pain that Tim was feeling
at the moment. The physician ordered the nurses to inject Tim with morphine forcefully. Nurses
collaborated in forcing the injection on Tim. The struggle to insert Tim resulted in breakage of
the needle inside Tim's body. Consequently, another operation proceeded to remove the stuck
needle. The condition led Tim to spend an additional month at the health facility.
Laws and ethics have a close relationship. The Australian Law provides principles that
act as bare minimums for the society. On the other hands, ethics provides an ideal platform for
adequate care. However, legal doctrines are essential for the application of ethical methods to be
a reality (Lydon, & Rizvi, 2016). In a few instances, ethical and legal principles disagree with
one another. A good example is when Australia legalizes assisted death, whereas ethically, the
action is wrong.
In the case study, Tim was rude and desired to return to the football pitch before the
completion of treatment. His actions prompted the practitioners at the health facility to ignore his
wish and inject him with morphine. The nurses administered the injection without considering

LAW AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE 4
the requests of Tim. The action of the nurses is ethically wrong due to disobedience of
autonomy. However, injecting Tim to pave the way for further treatment is legally right since
every citizen should receive quality care. However, ethics provide the platform for arguments
and changes to suit a particular scenario.
Tim's scenario provides a specific ethical and legal dilemma. Forcing Tim with treatment
is contrary to the principle of Autonomy. However, when the nurses prematurely leave him to
resume his football career, he can acquire other complications due to unfinished attention. On the
other hand, the law requires that every citizen receives quality healthcare (Bennett, 2017).
Utilitarianism and Deontology
The two are major ethical theories that are relevant to the provision of care to patients in
Australia. The method of utilitarianism states that a moral action is one that brings the greatest
happiness to a large number of individuals (Barrow, 2015). Furthermore, the theory asserts that
the best effort should improve the health status of an individual. At the same time, individuals
should prevent the occurrence of illegal activities. Utilitarianism emanates from
consequentialism. Therefore, judgment of action should depend on its overall consequences. An
act which breeds desirable outcomes is preferable to one that yields an unwanted result. Thus,
individuals should carry out activities that generate total positivity to a large group of
individuals. People should ensure that their deeds maximize utility in an overall view. The
outcome of action matters more than the act itself according to utilitarian.
Deontology insists that the provision of care by nurses is the essential activity on the
hospital. The theory does not consider the consequences of an action. However, deontology
judges a move at the onset of implementation process (Charura, McFarlane, Walker, & Williams,
2017). An effort is either wrong or right regardless of the consequences. Therefore, medical