Consenting to Treatment
Consent to treatment means a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination. It requires information to be exchange for consent to be meaningful and lawful.
When seeking consent to treatment, the question of whether the information given to a patient is adequate is judged from the perspective of a reasonable person in the patient’s position.
For the purposes of consent, the ruling from Montgomery replaces the previous tests founded in Bolam and refined in Sidaway.
The case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board and GMC (2015) UKSC 11 is the important case. It states that doctors have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that patients are aware of ‘material risks’. A patient must be told of any reasonable alternative treatments.
What is the test of materiality? It is whether in the circumstances any reasonable person in the patient’s position would be likely to attach significance to the risk given. The doctor should reasonably be aware that the patients they are treating and giving advice to would be likely to attach significance to it.
In not discussing a range of options for surgery with a clear discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of surgery is a clear breach of duty.
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If you’re ready to discuss your situation or have any questions please contact Dr Victoria Handley today. Don’t suffer in silence. Call FREE on 0800 470 2009 or email vhandley@handleylaw.co.uk