ABSTRACT

A patient receiving care may be in a vulnerable position if their judgement is impaired in some way. is means that there should be no presumption that blanket consent to all forms of treatment is presumed once the patient is receiving treatment. It is therefore an important aspect of communication that, in normal circumstances, before any treatment, the nurse is very clear that the patient has consented before any treatment is provided. See paragraph 13 of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2008) on expected nursing standards for valid consent. One example is in invasive procedures such as inserting a nasogastric tube or administering an enema to a patient.