Trusts risk litigation payouts by not adopting full consent process, warns college

NHS trusts risk a dramatic rise in litigation payouts unless they change the way they obtain patients’ consent to operations, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has warned, after a landmark case in the UK Supreme Court.

The judgment last year in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board requires doctors to explore the risks of proposed treatments and available alternatives much more thoroughly with patients.1 But the college fears that this message may not have fully filtered through, and it has issued new guidance to help surgeons adapt their processes.2

“The …