Health Law and Ethics - LLM

You will study six taught modules followed by a dissertation.

Choose from:

An introduction to patent law and the importance and effectiveness of intellectual property regimes, both nationally and internationally, to stimulate research and the creation of new medicines and medical innovations and to facilitate access to them in a public health context.

Explore the key features of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, such as the test for assessing capacity and the concept of acting in the best interests of those who lack capacity. You will also look at the provisions of civil detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Critically appreciate the ethical and legal issues at the beginning and ending of life as they arise in the medical context. You will explore assisted reproduction and related technologies and issues related to abortion and the broader control of pregnancy. In terms of ending of life the focus is principally on contexts in which life has been purposefully foreshortened and those in which life maintaining medical intervention has been withdrawn or withheld.

Critically examine the phenomenon of medical use of the human body and the key ethical and legal issues raised by it. You will explore the implications of philosophical theories, ethical principles and legal norms in areas such as transplantation, medical research and bio-banking.

Understand the obligation of employers to care for the health of their employees, particularly in the context of employees in a health care setting. You will assess the effectiveness of the English common law, UK legislation and European Union provisions governing health and safety in the workplace.

Examine the key areas of law relating to the practice of medicine and other health care specialisms in the UK, taking into account EU legislation. You’ll focus on the law relating to medical malpractice, law and regulation by professional bodies, as well as the Tort of Negligence and its application to clinical practice.

• You can select up to two modules from another subject area.

You will start your dissertation after completing these modules.

The dissertation is an extended piece of academic work, independently researched and written. You will be supported in your work by one-to-one supervision from a tutor expert in the chosen field. Subject to academic suitability and the availability of an appropriately expert tutor, you may select your own area of study for the dissertation phase of the course.