POLOKWANE – If you go for a medical procure, your doctor should discuss the procedure in detail with you, according to Dr Peters Mathebula.

Mathebula is a general practitioner who explained to Review that doctors are by law obligated to discuss any procedure with a patient as well as explain the possible side effects that may occur as a result.

The patient will then be given time to decide whether they want to go ahead with the treatment or not. Should a patient decide to refuse treatment, they then have to sign a refusal of hospital treatment form and doctors do not have a right to rescind a patient’s decision.

“The most important thing is to establish that the patient is in the right mental state to make the decision,” he explained.

Should it be found that the patient is not in their right mind, family will have to make the decision on their behalf and should family not be available, it is then escalated to the hospital manager. The matter then referred to the constitutional court. He added that although it is not frequent, it is not unheard of for a hospital to go via court to administer treatment to a patient who is deemed unfit to take the decision.

If a patient is in a mental position to make an informed decision and decides to decline treatment, their wishes have to be respected even if it may result in disability or death.

“The patient has the legal right to refuse treatment and at times, you feel helpless because you are trying to do what is in their best interests,” he said.

He added that some people prefer alternative treatments such as going to church or traditional healers, which should be respected as it is part of their belief system.

“It is pointless to force somebody to agree to certain treatments because at the end of the day, you will not be with them all the time to ensure that they follow the instructions that they have been given. As much as a patient has the right to decline treatment, they also have the right to change their mind about not getting treatment and vice versa,” he concluded.

Also read: Department of Health reserves right to transfer patients when a hospital bed is unavailable