blood sample consent

[lolapop]

If a person has been arrested at home on suspicion of drink driving, then taken to hospital due to overdose, is it ok for a blood sample to be taken and subsequently tested if the person was unaware of being at the hospital, unaware of consent being requested and completely unaware of what was happening or consequences?

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

The police are able to obtain a specimen of blood at the hospital without your consent at the time. This is to avoid a situation where someone is, for example, unconscious and therefore unable to consent and may therefore avoid prosecution. However, in these situations the police should have subsequently contacted you to request permission to have the sample analysed. In practical terms if you were to refuse this then they would prosecute you for failing to provide a specimen.

The issue may arise if the police have asked you for consent at the time of taking the specimen and you have given it but do not remember doing so. For the time being the best thing is to await the blood results to see whether you were over the limit or not.