Doctors' legal position in treating temporarily incompetent patients.

A 46 year old man with a history of chronic heavy alcohol consumption fell down a flight of 20 concrete steps and sustained an injury to the left side of his head, bleeding profusely from a scalp laceration. An ambulance was called, and, with some difficulty, he was persuaded to go to hospital with a friend. On arrival at the hospital he refused to enter the accident and emergency department and became verbally and physically aggressive, but his friend eventually persuaded him to be seen in the department. He initially seemed jovial and cooperative. He smelt strongly …