Consent In Nursing

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Consent is only seen as a problem when it is refused. Explain your understanding of what may influence a patient’s ability to consent, how consent may be given and the action that should be taken by a nurse when consent is refused.

All patients have the right to be autonomous which means they have the right to make their own decisions. Throughout all nursing care, the nurse must always act with this in mind, and also act with justice (to treat all people equally); beneficence (to do good) and non-maleficence (to do no harm).

Consent is the voluntary and continuing permission of the patient to receive a particular treatment based on an adequate knowledge of the purpose, nature and likely risks of the treatment including the likelihood
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Consent can be obtained in two ways. A patient may express their consent by making known their willingness to be touched which is known as explicit consent. This can be oral or written although written consent generally involves an invasive procedure such as surgery or a procedure which carries risk such as immunisation and these often require a consent form. The second is implied consent which is permission given through a patient’s actions to the request of a procedure, which could be lifting their sleeve and raising their arm when asked for a blood pressure reading.

As long as a patient is aged 16 and over they are assumed by law to be competent and able to make decisions regarding their healthcare and their consent is required before any treatment can
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Even though this was in the best medical interests of the patient, the court held that the surgery had been performed without full consent as it was clear that the woman’s religious beliefs forbade sterilisation.

Consent that is invalidated by a lack of information could be considered not to meet the required standard of practice and could result in negligence.

Depending on the patients’ capacity to consent, different pathways will be followed.

If a competent patient does refuse consent, the nurse must explore the reasons why they refused it and ensure that they are making an informed decision by giving the patient all relevant information of the procedure and also the consequences of refusing the procedure. At this point the nurse can also bring in any alternatives to the treatment which the patient may prefer.

When a person is temporarily incapacitated, (by a car accident etc) they can be treated under the ethical principles of beneficence and necessity.

A permanently incompetent person falls under the protection of the MCA (2005), which provides a statutory framework for people who may not be able to make their own decisions because of a learning disability; mental health problems or an illness like

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