When is it necessary to obtain the consent of the person responsible?
It will not be necessary to obtain consent from the person responsible if the treatment is urgent or of a trivial or minor nature, for example first aid treatment or non-intrusive examinations.
It is not necessary to seek consent for emergency (e.g. life saving) treatment if the person responsible is not immediately available.
If the patient has a disability and is incapable of consenting to the proposed medical or dental treatment, then in most cases consent must be obtained from the patient's person responsible.
The person responsible can consent to a wide range of medical and dental procedures including anaesthetics, hip replacements, eye surgery, dental extractions and so on. Some medical or dental treatment cannot be consented to by the person responsible.
If the treatment has been classified as 'special' or there is a dispute about the necessity or appropriateness of the treatment, the matter must be referred to the Board.
Rights and responsibilities of the person responsible
The person responsible for a patient needs to understand:
The practitioner has a responsibility to give the person responsible this information when seeking consent to the treatment before treating the patient.
Consent to medical treatment by the person responsible must be in writing.
Where the situation is urgent the consent may be given orally, and confirmed in writing as soon as possible.
