PLEA gratefully acknowledges our primary core funder the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for their continuing and generous support of our organization.
Medical treatment cannot be given without your valid consent. You are allowed to refuse medical treatment if you are of sound mind. You can also decide in advance that you do not want certain treatments later on.
There are exceptions to when medical consent is required. For more information, see Medical Treatment Without Consent.
Your consent is only valid if it is:
You can show your consent in several ways. You may simply allow health care professionals to treat you. You may ask health care professionals to begin treatment. You may sign a consent form agreeing to treatment. Written consent is usually only needed for serious treatments such as surgery.
Competent, in the medical sense, means you are mentally capable of making your own decisions. To be mentally capable, you must understand:
A person may lack competence permanently or temporarily. For example, a person may have dementia and not be able to make medical decisions for themselves.
To give a valid medical consent, you must also be of clear mind. This means there is nothing clouding your judgment or ability to make a decision about your own treatment. If you are under the influence of medication or other substances, you may not be of clear mind.
You can help ensure your wishes concerning health care decisions are respected by preparing a health care directive. It sets out your medical wishes if you lose your ability to consent or refuse treatment. If you become unable to make or communicate health care decisions, your doctors will follow your directive. You can also use it to name a proxy who can make those decisions on your behalf.
A family member or someone who is concerned about you can ask the court to appoint them as your guardian or co-decision maker. A guardian makes decisions for you. A co-decision maker helps you make decisions. If you do not think you need one, you can file an objection with the court.
Before a guardian or co-decision maker can be appointed, you must undergo at least two assessments. If you do not agree to be assessed, the court can order assessments. Assessments are done by doctors, nurses, social workers or other health care professionals. The assessor gives their opinion about whether an appointment is needed and can make recommendations. The assessor must also look at whether your condition could improve in the future to the point where you can give consent.
There are certain health care decisions that a co-decision maker or guardian cannot make for you. They cannot make medical decisions about:
Informed consent means you know the nature and consequences of the treatment. You have the right to decide whether the risks are greater than the advantages. You may choose to refuse treatment. Your doctor cannot make this decision for you.
Health care providers must explain and help you understand:
You should make sure that all your questions are answered before you give consent to any treatment.
If someone intimidates you or gives you false information to get your consent, your consent is not voluntary. You must decide to give consent on your own. While the advice of others can be helpful, you should not undergo treatment just because someone tells you to.
There is no particular age required to be able to give valid consent for medical treatment. You can consent to your own medical treatment if you understand the treatment, alternatives and what could happen if you do not get the treatment. In determining whether a minor can consent by themselves, medical personnel must consider:
If a minor is not mature enough to consent on their own, the minor’s parents will make the decision. The law can step in if parents do not make appropriate health care decisions for their children. A social worker may apprehend the child under The Child and Family Services Act. A court will then decide if the child is in need of protection. If so, the Ministry of Social Services will stand in the position of the parent. They are then able to consent to treatment on behalf of the child. It is also a crime for parents to fail in providing the necessities of life to their child who is under 16 years old. This includes appropriate health care.
All medical consent must also be voluntary. This means that the dependence of the young person on their parents must be considered. In this regard, things like whether the young person is heavily influenced by what their parents want must be considered.
Regardless of a child’s maturity, health care providers may ask parents for consent to treatment if it is not covered by the provincial health system. This is because those under 18 are generally not able to enter into valid contracts.
Young people may be particularly concerned about doctor-patient confidentiality. If a young person has the capacity to consent to medical treatment, the rules of confidentiality that apply are the same as they are for an adult. Information about treatment received must be treated as confidential and not released unless required by law.
Immunization is the process where your immune system becomes stronger against infectious organisms. These organisms include viruses and bacteria that can cause diseases. Your immune system is what fights off organisms that may harm your health. Vaccines are a common way to immunize yourself against diseases. Vaccines artificially activate your immune system in a safe way so that it knows how to fight off harmful organisms in the future. You can also get immunized by surviving a real disease. This is often the case, for example, with chicken pox.
Being immunized does not mean you will never get the disease. It just means that your immune system is better able to deal with it. Being immunized against a disease reduces the risk of that disease harming you.
In most cases, the government does not force people to be vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, however, your activities may be restricted. Other countries often require that you have certain vaccinations before you can travel there. Some jobs, especially in health care, require that you be up to date on your vaccines. If you are not vaccinated, you may also need to take other steps to ensure that you are not a threat to the safety of others.
In Canada, each level of government shares responsibility for vaccines. The federal government is responsible for:
The provinces and territories are responsible for immunization program planning and delivery in their respective jurisdictions. Saskatchewan Health offers a number of free routine vaccines for children. These vaccination programs target diseases, such as:
There are also targeted programs for those at high risk for things like influenza, pneumococcal disease and H1N1.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination is one of the most important public health interventions. In Canada, the Public Health Agency reports that in the last 50 years immunization has saved more lives than any other health intervention.
PLEA offers free online training on preventing and addressing workplace harassment.