This NHS webpage explains what informed consent means before any medical or healthcare treatment. It covers what makes consent valid, how mental capacity is assessed, and a patient’s rights to accept, refuse or withdraw consent to care at any stage.
What was studied?
This is NHS patient guidance, not a research study. It sets out the legal requirements for valid consent: voluntary, informed, and given by someone with capacity to understand and decide, across written, verbal or non-verbal agreement.
What did they find?
Consent must be voluntary, informed and given by someone with capacity to decide. If a person with capacity refuses treatment, that decision must be respected regardless of consequence. A patient can withdraw consent at any point.
Why it matters
This is the standard every part of healthcare, including chiropractic care, is built on. Patients are entitled to a clear explanation of risks and benefits before agreeing to treatment, and to change their mind at any time.
Why we included it
It illustrates the principle underpinning every treatment decision: patients need a clear explanation of options before agreeing to care, and the right to decline or pause it at any stage.
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What was studied?
This is NHS patient guidance, not a research study. It sets out the legal requirements for valid consent: voluntary, informed, and given by someone with capacity to understand and decide, across written, verbal or non-verbal agreement.
What did they find?
Consent must be voluntary, informed and given by someone with capacity to decide. If a person with capacity refuses treatment, that decision must be respected regardless of consequence. A patient can withdraw consent at any point.
Why it matters
This is the standard every part of healthcare, including chiropractic care, is built on. Patients are entitled to a clear explanation of risks and benefits before agreeing to treatment, and to change their mind at any time.
Why we included it
It illustrates the principle underpinning every treatment decision: patients need a clear explanation of options before agreeing to care, and the right to decline or pause it at any stage.