Top tips for GP Registrars

By Dr Saheli Chaudhury, GP Partner

• When explicit consent is sought from a patient, always assess their capacity to consent to or refuse medical treatment.
• Consider the patient’s age: a child is any person under 18 years of age as defined by the Children’s Act 1989. A “Gillick competent” child can consent to treatment and most children over the age of 16 years are presumed to have capacity to consent to treatment.
• To be competent to do so they must be able to comprehend, believe, retain and weigh up the relevant information presented to them.
• For a patient to consent to a medical treatment plan, they must have a basic understanding of:
  • What is to be done
  • The effect of the proposed treatment
  • The significant risks involved and be able to weigh them up
  • The right to say “no” and the consequences of that refusal.