Patient ≥18 years without the capacity to give consent
A patient will not be legally competent to give consent if they are unable to comprehend and retain information material to the decision, and/or they are unable to weigh and use this information in coming to a decision.3
In these circumstances consent form four must be used. If capacity is temporarily lost it may be wise to defer elective surgery until it returns. However, if permanently lost (e.g. dementia), surgery may proceed if felt to be in the patient's best interest, unless the patient had previously refused the procedure before they lost capacity.
Patients