Introduction

Consent to treatment is the principle that a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, testor examination. This must be done on the basis ofan explanation by a clinician.

Consent from a patient is needed regardless ofthe procedure whether it's a physical examination, organ donation or something else. The principle of consent is an important part of medical ethics and the international human rights law.

This topic covers:

Consent to treatment

How consent is given

Consent from children and young people

When consent isn't needed

Consent and life-sustaining treatment

Complaints

Defining consent

For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. These terms are explained below:

• Voluntary the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment must be made by the person themselves, and must not be influenced by pressure from medical staff, friends or family.
• Informed the person must be given all of the information in terms of what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments and what will happen if treatment doesn't go ahead.
• Capacity the person must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them, and they can use it to make an informed decision.

If an adult has the capacity to make a voluntary and informed decision to consent to or refuse a particular treatment, their decision must be respected. This is still the case even if refusing treatment would result in their death, or the death of their unborn child.

If a person doesn't have the capacity to make a decision about their treatment, the healthcare professionals treating them can go ahead and give treatment if they believe it's in the persons best interests.

However, the clinicians must take reasonable steps to seek advice from the patients friends or relatives before making these decisions.

If they change their mind at any point before the procedure, the person is entitled to withdraw their previous consent.

Consent from children and young people

If they're able to, consent is usually given by patients themselves.

However, someone with parental responsibility may need to give consent for a child up to the age of 16 to have treatment.

They should consider, among other things:

• what the person's quality of life will be if treatment is continued
• how long the person may live if treatment is continued
• whether there's any chance of the person recovering

Treatment can be withdrawn if there's an agreement that continuing treatment isn't in the person's best interests. The case will be referred to the courts before further action is taken if:

• an agreement can't be reached
• a decision has to be made on whether to withdraw treatment from someone who has been in a state of impaired consciousness for a long time (usually at least 12 months)

It's important to note the difference between withdrawing a person's life support and taking a deliberate action to make them die.For example, injecting a lethal drug wouldillegal.

Complaints

If you believe you've received treatment you didn't consent to, you can make an official complaint.

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