Standards in consent for cataract surgery

Consent forms for cataract surgery performed at Burnley General Hospital (BGH) and Blackburn Royal Infirmary (BRI) from October 4 to December 7, 2004, were prospectively reviewed to ensure that the East Lancashire Hospital's National Health Service (NHS) Trust Policy on consent to treatment and Department of Health (DoH) guidelines were being followed when seeking consent for cataract surgery. A set of 22 criteria derived as standards were formulated from the reference guide published by the DoH and from the East Lancashire trust policy document for consent to treatment. Each consent form was measured against these standards. Cases were randomly selected between BRI and BGH prospectively. All consent forms completed by physicians involved in formulating the standards were excluded. The review showed the NHS Trust Policy and DoH guidelines were largely followed when seeking consent for cataract surgery. However, certain areas were found to be deficient. If a health professional fails to obtain proper consent and the patient suffers harm as a result of treatment, it may be a factor in a claim of negligence against that health professional. Subsequent recommendations may include simple solutions that can be implemented to improve clinical practice when obtaining informed consent.