Consent to treatment means a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination.

This must be done on the basis of an explanation by a clinician.

Consent from a patient is needed regardless of the procedure, whether it's a physical examination, organ donation or something else.

The principle of consent is an important part of medical ethics and international human rights law.

Defining Consent

For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision.

The meaning of these terms are:

• voluntary – the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment must be made by the person, and must not be influenced by pressure from medical staff, friends or family
• informed – the person must be given all of the information about what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments, and what will happen if treatment does not go ahead
• capacity – the person must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them and can use it to make an informed decision

If an adult has the capacity to make a voluntary and informed decision to consent to or refuse a particular treatment, their decision must be respected.

This is still the case even if refusing treatment would result in their death, or the death of their unborn child.

If a person does not have the capacity to make a decision about their treatment and they have not appointed a lasting power of attorney (LPA), the healthcare professionals treating them can go ahead and give treatment if they believe it's in the person's best interests.

But clinicians must take reasonable steps to discuss the situation with the person's friends or relatives before making these decisions.