Review of our Consent guidance
We’re consulting on our revised Consent guidance which outlines what doctors should consider when discussing treatment and care with patients.
The updated guidance focuses on the importance of communication, personalised conversations, and doctors and patients making decisions about treatment and care together.
We’ve restructured it and made it clearer, so it’s easier for doctors to apply in practice. And we’ve provided more advice, including steps to follow when making decisions in different circumstances.
The guidance reflects the law, policy and healthcare settings in all four countries of the UK.
Tell us what matters to you
The consultation is open until Wednesday 23 January 2019 and there are several ways you can take part.
Full questionnaire for medical and lay professionals (approx #22 questions) – aimed at those with a detailed working knowledge of the policy, practice and law around consent. You’ll need to read the guidance to answer the questions.
A survey for doctors and other healthcare professionals (approx #21 questions) – aimed at those with a detailed working knowledge of the issues, but who may not have time to respond to the full questionnaire.
A survey for patients, carers and members of the public (approx #14 questions)– aimed at those who may not be familiar with our guidance, but will have views on good consent practice.
Accessing the consultation in other languages and formats
We can provide paper copies and other formats (such as large print) on request. The consultation documents are also available in Welsh.
Please email marketingcommunications@gmc-uk.org for further details.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the review or consultation please contact our Consent review team on gmcconsent@gmc-uk.org or 020 7189 5404.
If you’d like to submit a consultation response in hardcopy please send it to: Consent Review Team, General Medical Council, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN.
We've gathered evidence through our own and commissioned research as well as engagement, to understand what issues to address.
We’ve worked with our Task and Finish group who provided expert input from a legal, medical, health, social care and patient perspective to review the evidence.
We’ve now redrafted our guidance to:
focus on how doctors can support patient decision making and involve patients in decisions about their care as far as possible
focus on the importance of doctors finding out what is meaningful for their patients and helping them explore the different options
include practical suggestions and examples to explain how the principles apply
make it more accessible by referring less to the law and more to the principles on which the law is based.
Why are we updating the guidance?
Good consent practice is at the heart of the doctor-patient relationship, but we know it’s sometimes challenging to get this right. Our guidance sets out good practice principles for making decisions about care, from the treatment of minor conditions to major interventions with significant risks or side effects.
Since it was last published in 2008, there have been shifts in the legal, policy and workplace environments. Doctors are telling us that increasing pressures and demands on their practice can make it difficult to seek and record a patient’s consent in line with our guidance and the law.
We want to support doctors and patients to have meaningful conversations and to make shared decisions. Therefore we have updated the guidance to ensure that it is still clear and helpful, relevant to doctors’ needs, and consistent with the law.
We want the final guidance to be shaped by doctors on the medical front line, patients, and healthcare organisations. It’s therefore vital that we hear as many views as possible.
