Abstract Aim Consent obtaining process in surgery is a legal requirement and an important element to uphold ethical and patient-centred care. This audit examines the adherence of consent obtaining process to trust policy of a two-stage consent process, focused on the dates of generating electronic consent form, patient signature and consent confirmation against the date of surgery. Methods A retrospective audit on all patients that underwent elective operation in the general surgery department in a selected month, within a trust comprising of 2 hospitals, totalling 270 patients. Date of electronic consent form generation, patient signature and consent confirmation is audited against date of operation. EIDO forms (patient leaflet information) is also audited as linked to the e-consent form, and if documented on clinical letter of first consultation. Result Analysis identified poor adherence to the two-stage process of consent seeking, although all initial consultations comprise of the shared-decision making process, 58% of collected data suggests electronic consent forms are generated on the date of surgery rather than first consultation in outpatient clinic. Delayed consent generation compromises the consent obtaining process, leading to avoidable pressures and human error. The main error identified is consent confirmation signed but not dated, notably seen in consent forms generated on date of surgery. Conclusion Action and improvements must be made in the consent obtaining process, especially in relation to electronic consent forms to avoid legal disputes and promote satisfactory clinical communication.
Lai et al. (Fri,) studied this question.