Informed Consent

The process of obtaining informed patient consent for anaesthesia provides many practical, ethical and legal challenges. Nicholas Chrimes, Stuart Marshall & Maryann Turner explore these in the following editorials:

The Illusion of Informed Consent

This editorial examines the practical challenges involved in fulfilling the criteria for informed consent to anaesthesia. It stresses the need to provide better alignment between the principles of consent and the realities of clinical practice. Click here to access the editorial.

“An untenable disparity exists between the principles of informed consent and real-world anaesthetic practice”

This editorial explores whether trying to adhere to the legal requirements for informed consent could actually be undermining patient autonomy. Could the consent process be improved by providing patients with less information? Click here to access the editorial.

“Rather than clinicians adapting to the legal requirements for consent, the law may need to adapt to better serve the interests of patients”