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Date:

16 March 2006

Category:

Module 5: Consent to Treatment

Question:

Can treatment ever be given in the absence of the consent of the patient?

Answer:

Yes. The Mental Health Act 2001 acknowledges and provides for circumstances in which consent to treatment may be dispensed with. This may only occur in circumstances where, in the opinion of the consultant psychiatrist responsible for the care and treatment of the patient; the patient, by reason of his or her mental disorder, is incapable of giving consent and the treatment is necessary to safeguard the life of the patient, to restore his or her health, to alleviate his or her condition, or to relieve his or her suffering.