Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02025 by Shona Robison on 15 September 2016, what financial provisions each NHS board has made to deal with any increase in demand on services that might result from patients being made aware of their rights regarding choice of treatment following the outcome of the case.
Informed consent is a matter for NHS Board clinicians and their patients. Any associated costs are contained in the overall NHS Healthcare budget.
As I outlined in my answer to question S5W-02025, I expect all NHS Boards and their clinicians to adhere to the long established guidance produced by the General Medical Council (GMC) and to have robust clinical governance arrangements in place to ensure that the principles and framework contained in the guidance are applied by all doctors when seeking informed consent to treatment from patients.
It is paramount that patients are given all of the information in terms of what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments and what will happen if treatment doesn't go ahead. Obtaining informed consent can only be achieved through partnership and joint decision making between clinicians and their patients.