Abstract
Introduction: There is paucity in guidance on when and what should be said or who should take the consent for patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty. Never before, the specialists been contacted for current practice and their recommendations on the content and timing of obtaining the consent in these patients.
Materials and Methods: A postal questionnaire was sent to 154 Orthopaedic consultants in the 14 units in NorthWestern region of England. We acquired information on their current practice, awareness of the guidelines and their preferences and recommendations.
Results: A total of 117/154 (76%) consultants responded, of which 84 (55%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Currently, 36% patients are consented at preoperative assessment clinic and 40% on admission. 75% of the consultant consent themselves or are consented by their registrars. 70% were aware of local or national policies on who should consent patients and 40% on what should be explained and documented. 75% recommended that operating surgeon should obtain consent. The recommended time for the consent was at preoperative assessment by 57%.
Discussion: If the act of signing the consent form is to be more meaningful it should be signed by the surgeon who is going to perform the operation. This study demonstrates that the consultants agree on the common complications but have a varied threshold for giving the less common risks. With shortening of the waiting time, there is a growing body of surgeons suggesting that the consent should be done at the listing itself.
Correspondence should be addressed to BOSA at the Royal College of Surgeons, 35–43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE, England.
