Consent and risk disclosure of COVID in the post-pandemic era.
Dhahri, Adeel Abbas Lewis-Knights, Jelani Hamid, Kamran Farrag, Abdelrahman Lambert, Gary
Dhahri, Adeel Abbas
Lewis-Knights, Jelani
Hamid, Kamran
Farrag, Abdelrahman
Lambert, Gary
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Publication date
2026-01-18
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Abstract
Informed consent is a fundamental component of ethical and legal medical practice in the United Kingdom (UK). As COVID-19 transitions to an endemic phase, this study explores how consistently its ongoing risk is communicated during the surgical consent process. We prospectively reviewed 147 surgical consent forms collected over 2 months in 2024 at a UK tertiary centre. The primary aim was to assess how often COVID-19 risk was documented; secondary outcomes included postoperative infection rates and 30-day mortality. COVID-19 was explicitly mentioned in only 5.4% of consent forms. No significant variation was found across clinician grades (p = 0.840). Three patients developed postoperative COVID-19, and one died within 30 days. This mortality association was statistically significant (p = 0.020). Despite existing guidance, COVID-19 risk is rarely discussed when obtaining consent, raising ethical and legal concerns. These findings highlight the need for institutional safeguards to ensure transparent, patient-centred consent that aligns with medico-legal standards in post-pandemic care.
Citation
Dhahri AA, Lewis-Knights J, Hamid K, Farrag A, Lambert G. Consent and risk disclosure of COVID in the post-pandemic era. Med Leg J. 2026 Jan 18:258172251405158. doi: 10.1177/00258172251405158.
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Article