Consent

Consent
Iain Mactier, Paul McConnell
Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, 13 July 2023
Abstract
Consent is a fundamental ethical and legal principle in good medical practice. A patient must have capacity to provide informed consent. There are four key principles that need to be satisfied when establishing if a patient has capacity. For consent to be valid, the patient must be made aware of all associated risks to which they would attach significance. Information provided to patients should be individualized, objective and include all reasonable alternatives. It should be made clear if a procedure is optional, for example, an analgesic regional nerve block. Questions should be encouraged and answered honestly. Patients need adequate time to consider all the information provided. The consent process should be documented but a separate signed consent form is not required for most anaesthetic interventions. Some patients may have an advance care directive or a legally appointed power of attorney and these must be respected. When a patient has not made such arrangements and does not have capacity, treatment should be provided in accordance with their best interests. This must be individualized and consider multiple factors. Specialist advice should be sought in circumstances where there is uncertainty.