Medical Ethics - Consent

Consent to treatment lies at the heart of the relationship between the patient and the health care professional.

It is a major ethics topic in itself, and rather than writing a series of web pages on this, I'll point you in the direction of a super webpage that covers the topic comprehensively and gives examples: http://www.ethics-network.org.uk/Ethics/econsent.htm

The BMA Consent Tool Kit

You may also be interested to see the BMA's Consent Tool Kit.

It is designed to act as a prompt when we are seeking consent by providing answers to common questions raised by this process.

It can also raise our awareness about the ethical and legal principles that apply, to dispel some common misconceptions surrounding consent and to help doctors to obtain valid consent from their patients.

It consists of a series of cards relating to specific areas of consent such as providing treatment to children; consent and research; and obtaining consent for teaching purposes.

To access the Consent Tool Kit, click on this link: http://www.bma.org/ap.nsf/Content/consenttk2

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Written by: Michael Harris

Last updated: 16 September 2006