This book is the second edition of a medico-legal text written some twenty years ago by Prof. Feltoe and the late Mr Nyapadi. This new edition incorporates the many changes that have been made to the legislation relating to medical practice in Zimbabwe and more recent rulings by our courts relating to matters such as consent and medical negligence. It is hoped that this new edition will provide guidance to medical practitioners on a variety of legal and ethical issues and to legal practitioners on the law relating to medical practice. In a number of medical matters, the Zimbabwean law is not well developed. Here reference will be made to South African and English law. The law from those counties is not binding in Zimbabwe but is of persuasive value only. This book is intended as a guide to medical practitioners and nurses on certain aspects of the Zimbabwean law affecting the practice of medicine in this country. The topics covered are the ones which, in the opinion of the authors, are of most interest and concern to those engaging in medical practice. The selected topics are not covered exhaustively. Some of these topics involve highly complex considerations and the law has to be applied to numerous different fact situations. This book sets out to provide a simple non-legalistic overview of some of the important points of law and how the law will be applied in certain specific situations.
