Mediation of Medical Treatment Disputes: A Therapeutic Justice Model, 2023-2025

This study collected empirical data regarding the use of mediation in medical treatment disputes concerning adults and children. 30 semi-structured interviews were carried out with a range of participants. Key findings included:
- that mediation could be a therapeutic process where it was designed to be flexible, participatory, less adversarial, voluntary, collaborative and enhance participant communication and understanding and we suggest that mediation’s use in health and care disputes should ensure these features are protected and promoted through mediation design;
- that some participants were closed to mediation and resolution, cynical about mediation and mediators (sometimes family members who distrusted the mediator’s independence of the HCPs), and felt process coercion to participate (usually paediatric HCPs who saw it as a requirement from the court), attitudes which could be seen as anti-therapeutic;
- that mediation can cause delay in resolution, but that there was no evidence that mediation led to agreements that undermined the patient’s best interests;
- that religious views of the parties were not a barrier to mediation and that, rather, religious support in mediation can be beneficial for parties.