Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the dynamics of healthcare, and the elective surgical consent process has also evolved. The Royal College of Surgeons of England published guidance on consent during COVID-19. Through this study, we aimed to assess our local consent adherence to these guidelines on the resumption of elective activity after the first wave of COVID-19.MethodsThis prospective review of consecutive elective surgical consent forms was conducted from 20 July 2020 to 16 August 2020 at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, England. The primary outcome was evidence of COVID-19 risk documentation on the consent forms.ResultsA total of 116 patients’ consent forms were reviewed. Most patients were American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grade 2 (n=70; 60.34%). Only 25 consent forms (21.55%) had COVID -19 and its associated risks documented, with registrars being the most compliant (19/46; 41.3%) followed by consultants (6/51; 11.7%). With regards to the surgical sub-specialities, general surgery, orthopaedics and ENT had the highest compliance with the guidance.ConclusionsAs the elective activity resumes, peri-operative risks of COVID-19 should be weighted in during the informed consent process, as mentioned in the latest international guidelines on consent to avoid litigation and negligence claims.
Highlights
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, since its origin in Wuhan, has caused a significant healthcare crisis across the world [1,2,3,4]
With the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic finished, hospitals are resuming back the elective activities. This brings in to light the importance of informed consent, especially with COVID-19 being still prevalent in the community and the material risk to life due to its associated complications
The Royal College of Surgeons of England initially published guidelines for “recovery of surgical services during and after COVID-19”, which was updated in June 2020 with the addition of a new tool called “consent to treatment, while COVID-19 is present in society” [9]
Summary
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, since its origin in Wuhan, has caused a significant healthcare crisis across the world [1,2,3,4]. This led to a shift of primary focus onto emergency care with a significant impact on elective activities across the globe [5]. With the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic finished, hospitals are resuming back the elective activities This brings in to light the importance of informed consent, especially with COVID-19 being still prevalent in the community and the material risk to life due to its associated complications. We aimed to assess our local consent adherence to these guidelines on the resumption of elective activity after the first wave of COVID-19
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