Report outlines guidelines on patient consent

Press, 27 July 1989, Page 2

Report outlines guidelines on patient consent

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

Guidelines for patients to be asked to consent and to give informed consent for treatment and surgery are contained in a report to the Minister of Health, Ms Clark.

It is part of the response to the Cartwright report on the controversial research trials on cervical cancer treatment conducted at National Women’s Hospital in Auckland.

Lack of “informed consent” was one of the basic ethical issues at the centre of the Cartwright report and this response was a discussion document prepared by a Health Council working party. In her report Judge Cartwright has said that patients had not always been properly informed of the nature of their condition and the treatment options available to them.

The discussion paper raises a number of issues about informed public consent for treatment procedures in public patient care services, including hospitals. These include what informed consent is, why it is necessary, when it is required, who should give the information, how it should be given, and who should obtain consent.

Ms Clark said the practice of getting informed consent varied widely among health facilities in New Zealand. A national standard for informed consent would encourage greater consistency, she said. The discussion paper contains a draft national standard and draft consent forms. It will be distributed to all area health boards to be used in discussions with consumer groups, staff and professional groups, and the wider community.

Ms Clark said a national standard for all New Zealand public health care services would be drawn up after there had been public consultation. The discussion paper was now open for public submissions, which would close on September 30.