The UK Human Rights Act 1998: Implications for nurses

In this article we consider some of the implications of the UK Human Rights Act 1998 for nurses in practice. The Act has implications for all aspects of social life in Britain, particularly for health care. We provide an intr oduction to the discourse of rights in health care and discuss some aspects of four articles from the Act. The reciprocal relationship between rights and obligations prompted us to consider also the relationship between guide lines in the United Kingdom Central Council's Code of professional conduct and the requirements of the Human Rights Act 1998. We conclude with the rec ommendation that the new legislation should be welcomed for its potential t o support good practice and to urge critical and reflective practice rather than as yet another burdensome bureaucratic imposition.