6. Patient Consent
INTRODUCTION
DOCUMENTING CONSENT
SEEKING CONSENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER REFERENCES
n = number of cases where information was provided

 

6. PATIENT CONSENT

INTRODUCTION

Consent for any medical intervention is a legal requirement. The General Medical Council (GMC)1, the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG)2 and the Department of Health3 have produced guidance on the legal and ethical considerations when seeking patient consent. This section is not intended to reproduce those guidelines, but to highlight the specific concerns that were raised by case review of this sample.

Key points
In 32% of cases, clinicians did not answer the question as to whether consent had been provided for the procedure.

Written consent was provided by 66% of patients with dementia or acute confusion who
may not have had the capacity to consent.