[A patient with a psychiatric disorder who refuses treatment of a somatic disease]

A woman aged 58 had been suffering for 11 years from a rodent ulcer to the face. The patient, who suffered from a delusional disorder associated with a personality disorder not otherwise defined, had all that time refused medical treatment. She was admitted by virtue of the Wet Bijzondere Opnemingen in Psychiatrische Ziekenhuizen (BOPZ; Bill on Compulsory Admission to Psychiatric Hospitals) because of 'major self-neglect with risk of death'; also, substitute permission was obtained from her son for somatic treatment by virtue of the Wet op de Geneeskundige Behandelingsovereenkomst (WGBO; Decree on the Medical Contract). It was found that the ulcer was no longer amenable to treatment.