Perioperative practice - Essay Example

times the patient is not in a position to take decisions regarding health care for reasons such as being under medication, labor, mental illness, so in that case ‘Consent is not needed when patients are incompetent to give it (young children, unconscious patients, etc (Len Doyal, 1997) Research studies have shown that ‘there might be language/literacy problems in obtaining informed consent.’ (Lloyd, Cathy E. and Johnson, et al., 2008) In such cases, the medical faculty gives a thorough explanation of the best procedures to the patient based on her other health related problems.

By informing our patient completely on the nature of all the decisions and procedures, in addition to the alternatives and interventions available, she was in a better position to participate in the decision-making process by weighing the pros and cons and finally giving consent because of the legal and ethical right at her disposal. According to (Campbell, et al., 1998) “Integrated care pathways are structured multidisciplinary care plans which detail essential steps in the care of patients with a specific clinical problem and describe the expected progress of the patient” Understanding on the part of the patient as well as the doctor about the Care planning pathway, puts them in a better position to make preparations before the actual operation can take place.

(Scott I, 1999) explains that integrated care pathways “are an opportunity to identify good practice, remove bad practice, identify and apply evidence, identify education and training needs and appreciate the skills and contributions of all professionals and care sectors.” This step is very important because it helps the patient to understand all the risks and benefits involved in the process and also the areas of ambiguity. After a clear discussion the physician got the consent of our patient on a written document and explained to her that she was not a mere spectator but played a vital role in the decision making