Valid Consent to Treatment

You are the surgical FY1 on call. A patient comes in acutely unwell with severe abdominal pain. He is reviewed by your seniors, who tell him he needs an operation to investigate the cause of his symptoms. They ask you to obtain consent for laparoscopy and a laparotomy and proceed. When you see the patient, he is still in pain and he tells you that he is aware he needs an operation but just wants them to get on with it. He says he does not want to know what risks there might be, ‘You do whatever is best, doctor’.

• Why is consent legally necessary?
• What are the essentials of valid consent?
• Is consent valid if the patient is not informed of risks because he does not want to know?

Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)

Clinical Ethics and Law, Second edition. Carolyn Johnston, Penelope Bradbury, Series editor: Janice Ryme