Abstract
Failure to provide sufficient information to a patient when seeking consent can result in a claim in negligence. When determining what information to provide, you should be guided by what this particular patient needs to know in order to make an informed decision. Adult patients must be assumed to have capacity to give or withhold consent unless they are clearly unable to comprehend, retain or weigh in the balance the necessary information. Adults without capacity come under the protection of the mental Capacity act (adults with incapacity (Scotland) act in Scotland). as a result, they may when competent have nominated someone to make healthcare-related decisions on their behalf. If nobody has been appointed in this way by a patient it may be necessary to consult an independent mental capacity advocate. An adult with capacity has the right to refuse treatment on rational grounds, irrational grounds or, indeed, no grounds at all.
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