National survey of UK Dermatologists demonstrates significant variation in how to obtain consent for dermatological procedures

Abstract

Consent must be undertaken prior to any dermatological procedure; however, in doing this, the clinician needs to ensure consent is valid and satisfies the principles of determining material risk. We aimed to assess variations in obtaining consent in the UK and understanding of material risk through a nationally distributed survey to members of the British Society for Dermatological Surgery and British Association of Dermatologists. Of 165 responses, we found that written consent was being obtained for all procedures in 73.9% of cases and typically at the time of procedure in the operating room/theatre (78.8%). Fifty-seven per cent of respondents were not familiar with the term 'material risk' and almost one-third were not aware of the Montgomery vs. Lanarkshire ruling, which replaced the Bolam test in 2015. We would encourage readers to be aware of these changes to consent law in the UK and how it might affect their approach to obtaining consent.