Informing patients about the uncertainties and risks of new surgical procedures
Author
Latif, A.
Western, Catherine
Travers, Hannah
Thomas, V.
Patrick, H.
Campbell, Bruce
Date
2015-03-03Journal
The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of EnglandType
Journal ArticlePublisher
Royal College of SurgeonsDOI
10.1308/147363515X14134529302146Rights
Archived with thanks to The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of EnglandMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Informing patients thoroughly is vital in obtaining proper consent. It is particularly important for procedures with limited evidence of efficacy or with well-recognised concerns about safety. National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance makes recommendations about informing patients fully when considering these procedures and specifies giving written information. This audit of hospitals around the UK shows considerable variation in the availability of written information for a range of such procedures and exposes some of the difficulties perceived by surgeons in providing this information for their patients.