ABSTRACT
Although the law requires doctors and nurses to give sufficient information to allow patients to make a decision about proposed interventions, within the UK 'informed consent' is not a legal require ment. However, case law is evolving. It will be influenced by human rights legislation and indirectly by the standards set by professional groups. Indeed, the Department of Health, professional bodies and specialist societies have increasingly accepted this transatlantic doctrine as the standard for reasonable practice. This movement towards informed consent by the professions may ultimately lead English courts to accept such consent as standard on the principles identified in Bolam and Bolitho.
