JUDGMENT

Siti Norma Yaakob FCJ:

[1] The question of law that is posed to us in this appeal is couched in the following words.

Whether the "BolamTest" as enunciated in Bolam v. FriernHospital Management Committee [1957] 2 All ER 118 in the area of medical negligence should apply in relation to all aspects of medical negligence.

[2] To appreciate the "Bolam Test" which is the touchstone of liability for medical negligence in England, it is necessary that we first consider the facts of the case itself.

[3] The plaintiff in Bolam's case, one John Hector Bolam, a salesman, was admitted to Friern Hospital suffering from the after effects of a mental illness of the depressive type. He was examined by the consultant psychiatrist attached to the hospital and was advised to undergo electro-convulsive therapy which was carried out by placing electrodes on the head to allow an electric current from a machine to pass through the brain. One of the results of the treatment was to cause convulsion in the nature of a fit. The consultant psychiatrist did not warn Bolam of the risks involved, one of which was the risk of fracture.

[4] Bolam signed a form consenting to the treatment and nothing untowa