KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 ― Spousal consent is “necessary” for medical treatments where the patient is “dependent” on his or her spouse, the Health Ministry said.
Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said although legally, only the consent of a patient who is of sound mind is necessary, there are “grey areas” where a patient is agreeable to medical procedures or surgery, but the spouse is not.
“This situation where spousal consent may be considered necessary needs to be explored further whether it is limited to conditions involving reproduction or to elective procedures, which may have impact on the quality of marital status,” he told Malay Mail Online via email.
He claimed that spousal consent “seemed to be necessary” before conducting medical and surgical treatment where a patient is dependent on her or his spouse.
He cited a High Court decision, which ruled that the doctors were negligent in their care for failing to inform both the patient and her husband, who is the plaintiff, of the risks involved in the surgical procedure.
According to the details of the Abdul Razak Datuk Abu Samah v Raja Badrul Hisham Raja Zezeman Shah & Ors (2012) case published on Cljlaw.com, the doctors had a verbal consent from the husband to proceed with the surgery. She, however, died the next day.
Despite citing the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) Guidelines on Consent For Treatment Of Patients By Registered Medical Practitioners, which states that “any discussion between the spouses in this respect does not and should not deny the rights of the patient concerned in making the final decision and giving consent”, Noor Hisham said the patient should inform the doctor if she is dependent on her husband and feels that his consent is necessary.
In principle, he said consent for medical or surgical procedure is legally required from only the individual patient. But, he added that a discussion is needed between the couples before making a decision for any surgeries, which includes “mastectomy, tubes ligation or vasectomy” to be performed.
“The view of the spouse needs to be considered after detailed explanation has been given.
“However, based on the previous judicial decisions, spousal consent appears to be an important issue, which cannot be taken lightly, especially when the situation demands for such requirement and depends on the case involved,” he said.
Malay Mail Online understands that a special consent form is given to patients for the BTL procedure requiring the signature from the patient, her husband, and a witness.
By contrast, a regular consent form requiring only the patient, parent or guardian, is needed for a vasectomy.
The BTL consent form seems to be only for married women as medical practitioners say single women would not be denied the procedure.
