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Cartwright Code Of Rights Essay

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The public backlash from the exposé in the Metro article (Coney & Bunkle, 1987) led to the formation of the Cartwright Inquiry headed by Judge Sylvia Cartwright (The Committee of the Inquiry, 1988). One of the most important lessons learned from the report of the Cartwright Inquiry is the importance of the right to give informed consent.This is one of ten rights forming the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights Regulation 1996 under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 as recommended by the Cartwright Inquiry (The Committee of the Inquiry, 1988). This right is also included in the New Zealand Conditions of Practice (NZCOP) set by the New Zealand Dental Council (Dental Council, 2011). All oral health professionals in New Zealand are duty-bound to abide by the NZCOP in order to practice in New Zealand. The right to give informed consent also incorporates the right to autonomy and to be fully informed. Giving informed consent demands that the person receiving the healthcare or disability service to be fully informed of his or her health issues to enable him or her to make an informed choice in his own care. This removes the presumption that …show more content…

This is legislated by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPCAA) 2003 to protect the public by ensuring all practitioners are fit and competent to practice in their prescribed scope (Dental Council, 2011). Under the HPCAA, the dental council has the task of setting the standards for registration and provide the criteria for measuring performance of practitioners applying for registration (Dental Council, 2011). Therefore, through the legislations and codes of practice applying to oral health professionals, the health and safety of the public is

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