title: The duty of care 1: compliance with directives and protocols.
abstract: The first three articles in this series will concentrate on the issue the legal 'duty of care'--the terms of which we as nurses have to understand. The first article examines a recent decision of the High Court of England and Wales that discusses and examines directives and protocols. I have begun with a discussion of the fact that a duty of care not only extends from healthcare providers to patients (clients) but also from employers to employees, and between healthcare providers themselves.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Law and Politics, Faculty of Health, London South Bank University.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fullbrook
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003142:Communication; D004739:England; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014852:Wales