ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses clinical guidelines within the context of the government’s developing health care quality agenda and within the tort of negligence. Clinical guidelines are a major tool in the government’s health quality reforms and feature in a number of areas. Organisations such as NICE develop and actively encourage the use of clinical guidelines. This increased frequency of use of clinical guidelines cannot be looked at in isolation from the law. As clinical negligence litigation is increasing, clinical guidelines will be seen more as part of the environment of care. Lawyers and judges will scrutinise them. A key issue discussed is how lawyers and judges will use clinical guidelines.
