How informed consent prevents medical negligence

Patient at doctor's desk
Share
3 minute read

Written by

Medical negligence can cause serious problems for patients and their families. Not giving patients adequate advice is negligent. Informed consent allows patients to make informed decisions about their care. This article examines how informed consent works and provides useful tips for patients and healthcare providers.

The importance of informed consent

Informed consent means ensuring patients are told about all risks, benefits, and treatment options in a way that they can fully understand. This respects their choices and helps prevent medical mistakes by reducing misunderstandings and preparing them for what to expect.

Key elements

  1. Disclosure of information: Medical professionals must provide full information about treatment, including its nature, risks and benefits, alternatives, and the likelihood of success. All treatments have risks, but doctors need to make sure patients understand them and get their agreement (consent) before going ahead.
  2. Patient comprehension: The information must be given in a way that the patient can understand. That may depend on their level of education, understanding of language proficiency, and any disabilities.
  3. Voluntary decision-making: Patients must be able to make their decisions freely, without coercion or undue influence from healthcare providers or other parties.
  4. Documentation: The informed consent process should be thoroughly documented. The patient should normally show their agreement to a treatment by signing a consent form. Forms, are, however, of limited use. Signing a form does not mean a patient has been told all the risks and agreed to them. The courts have sometimes found that a patient who signed a form has not given informed consent.

Communicating clearly: obtaining informed consent

  • Use visual aids: Add aids, such as diagrams, pictures, or videos to verbal explanations. This can help patients understand and retain information.
  • Encourage questions: Encourage patients to ask questions and say anything that worries them. This helps good decision-making on both sides.
  • Assess understanding: Check from time to time that the patient understands the advice. Address any gaps or misunderstandings.
  • Ongoing communication: Keep communicating throughout the treatment process. Address anything that has changed in the patient’s condition or the proposed treatment plan.

Tips for patients

As a patient, take an active role by asking questions and saying what concerns you. Here are tips to consider:

  1. Familiarise yourself with the information: Ask your healthcare provider to explain the treatment clearly. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or seek clarifications.
  2. Seek a second opinion: If unsure, get a second opinion from another healthcare professional. (Martha’s Rule)
  3. Don’t make assumptions: Your doctor should know your medical history. But don’t hesitate to tell them if you feel that they may have missed out something or not taken something into account.

Tips for healthcare providers

Healthcare professionals must ensure patients understand the risks, benefits and treatment alternatives. Here are tips for effective implementation:

  1. Provide comprehensive information: Inform patients about treatment risks and benefits.
  2. Use visual aids: To enhance understanding.
  3. Encourage questions: Create an environment that encourages questions and concerns from patients.
  4. Document the process: Record the consent process with patient acknowledgement.

Empowering patients: Prioritising informed consent and expert support in healthcare

Informed consent is critical to empower patients. It ensures they are fully aware of the risks, benefits and alternatives associated with a proposed treatment. By focussing on patient advice, informed consent and communicating clearly, healthcare providers can reduce the risk of medical negligence and foster a stronger, more trusting relationship with their patients. As a patient, taking an active role in your healthcare is essential, as well as asking questions and seeking clarification on any concerns you may have. Working together is the best way to ensure the best care and avoid medical neglect.

Contact us

Medical negligence claims are complicated. Success requires expertise beyond legal knowledge. As a leading clinical negligence specialist firm in the UK, working with Enable Law can make all the difference. At Enable Law, we have years of experience supporting people whose lives have been changed by medical negligence get the support they need to rebuild their lives. Some of our colleagues provide training to medical professionals to help lessons learnt from claims to be shared and prevent them from being repeated. If you have concerns about the care you or a loved one received, contact us now for a free confidential discussion about the ways we may be able to help you. Call us today on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form so we can call you back at a time convenient to you.

Expert Legal Help

Request a Call Back

If you would like us to call you back to discuss a potential claim, please complete the form below and a member of the team will call you at a time convenient to you. We are in your corner and ready to help. Alternatively, you can contact us by email.

Callback Form
Your Name
Your Name
First Name
Last name

please note we will call back to help during office hours which are Monday to Friday 9am until 6pm