Clin Med
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As awareness grows of the palliative care needs of those diagnosed with advanced life-threatening illness other than cancer, consideration needs to be given to how to address these needs. This paper focuses on palliative care for those with such diagnoses by describing variations in illness trajectory according to diagnosis, and exploring how this may affect provision of palliative care.
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An essential component of an action in negligence against a doctor is proof that the doctor failed to provide the required standard of care under the circumstances. Traditionally the standard of care in law has been determined according to the Bolam test. This is based on the principle that a doctor does not breach the legal standard of care, and is therefore not negligent, if the practice is supported by a responsible body of similar professionals. ⋯ The effect of Bolitho is that the court will take a more enquiring stance to test the medical evidence offered by both parties in litigation, in order to reach its own conclusions. Recent case law shows how the court has applied the Bolitho approach in determining the standard of care in cases of clinical negligence. An understanding of this approach and of the shift from the traditional Bolam test is relevant to all medical practitioners, particularly in a climate that is increasingly litigious.