Oral Health | Clinical and Risk Asessment | Negotiating consent for treatment

Negotiating consent for treatment
Session overview
Description
Consent for treatment is a legal requirement involving a detailed explanation of the diagnosis and treatment options. Practitioners must be able to negotiate consent according to the guidance issued by the General Dental Council.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• describe best practice in obtaining consent to treatment
• explain why 'information', 'capacity' and 'voluntariness' are key concepts, and how they can be applied
• list the patient communication methods used by practitioners
• describe the key information that should be included on a consent form
• explain the risk of not seeking consent and embarking on complex treatment immediately

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should:

• have completed the e-Den session 1 Patient assessment/Good practice/An introduction to consent
• be familiar with the General Dental Council Standards relating to consent, and the Department of Health 'Reference Guide to Consent for Examination and Treatment'

Patients have a right to determine what happens to their body. Patients are autonomous individuals and that right must be respected by healthcare professionals.

The process by which consent is given is the culmination of a process which starts at the beginning of the patient’s journey - from the initial consultation, all the way through until the patient is discharged.

Throughout that journey, the healthcare practitioners involved with the patient have a duty of care to the patient.

In order to make a valid decision about their health and treatment, patients must be given sufficient information about their diagnosis and treatment options, without being placed under duress to make a decision one way or another.

Throughout the majority of this session, the patient described will be an adult patient with full capacity. Occasionally, an alternative patient profile is described.