NHS: Consent to treatment

Summary

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

This webpage from the NHS includes information on:

• how consent is given and what we mean by consent
• assessing capacity
• consent from children and young people
• assessing capacity
• when consent is not needed
• consent and life support.