Every patient has a fundamental right to determine whether or not to undergo a particular procedure and it is the clinician’s duty to seek consent before taking action. The consequences if a clinician acts without consent can include criminal or civil proceedings.
Consent is only valid if the patient has received full and frank information regarding what the procedure entails and the risks involved. If a clinician fails to fails to warn the patient of a particular risk and that risk materialises, the patient may be able to bring a negligence claim on the basis that had a warning about a particular risk been given, the patient would not have agreed to undergo the procedure and therefore the complication would never have occurred.
Proving that a clinician has breached of their duty of care, that the breach caused harm and the extent of the harm caused is easier said than done.
This course will ensure that practitioners who are new to this area of law are aware of the importance of consent and the issues which can arise if this is not sought or properly obtained.
Delivered by experienced solicitor and former NHS consultant and lecturer Alison Joyce, this course will provide viewers with an overview of what consent is, whether this is valid and the circumstances in which consent cannot be obtained. Alison will also provide practical guidance on how to successfully bring a negligence claim as a result of a lack of consent.
This course will also be suitable for more experienced practitioners who would like to refresh their knowledge of this crucial area of clinical negligence practice as it will discuss the difficulties which practitioners may face when trying to prove a negligence claim and what you can do to address these issues.