1316 An Evaluation of The Consent Process in One of The Largest Spinal Surgery Units in Europe. (12th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Daitey, E; Afolayan, J; Shah, N; Stringfellow, T; Shafafy, R; Gibson, A
• Is Part Of: British journal of surgery. Volume 108:Supplement 6(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-12
• Subjects: Surgery -- Periodicals; 617.005
• DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znab259.143
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1323

Abstract

Abstract: Complex spinal surgery has high morbidity and mortality making the process of consent central to patient care [1]. Our aim was to qualitatively assess our consent process with three set metrics; how far in advance patients were consented prior to the date of surgery, the inclusion of all relevant risks on the consent form and the provision of supplementary patient information leaflets or equivalent. We retrospectively reviewed 100 consecutive patients undergoing elective spinal surgery at our tertiary centre which is the one of the largest spinal units in Europe between December 2019 and March 2020. All patients had valid consent forms. 16% of patients were consented on the day of surgery, 22% were consented the day before. Of the remaining 62%, 22 patients (35%) were consented within 2 weeks of surgery, and 40 (65%) over 2 weeks prior to surgery. 94% were consented for all relevant risks as determined by the senior authors. 81% had no documentation of receiving supplementary information and 11% had documentation of consent discussion in clinic. In conclusion, this audit revealed a significant variation in the consent process within our unit. This may highlight a deficit in the consenting process which we aim to explore further.