Doctors must now tell patients of all relevant risks

Doctors are being warned that they must ensure patients are aware of material risks and of any reasonable alternative or variant treatments when getting consent from them.

In a major change of policy, the Supreme Court has introduced a new approach of informed patient consent for the first time in negligence law.

The ruling in its judgment on Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board has done away with the previous test, applying from the cases of Bolam and Sidaway.

This was that a doctor would not be negligent if the information given to a patient about a treatment or procedure was compatible with that which would be given by a responsible body of medical opinion, provided the standard was considered reasonable by a Court.
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