Consent Policy
Last reviewed: 22/06/2026 — KS.
All team members are bound by the law while they practice as Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. This policy outlines the key points in relation to consent.
Informed consent
You have a duty to explain to your patients the risks and benefits of any treatment beforehand. You must also tell them about any alternatives to the treatments and compare the options on offer. Healthcare professionals have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that the patient is aware of any material risks involved in any recommended treatment and of any reasonable alternative or variant treatments. It is essential that you carefully document the consent process to show that the patient (or their representative) is happy to proceed with treatment.
In cases where a client lacks the capacity to give informed consent, assessment and treatment should proceed in a patient’s best interest. This should be in conjunction with anyone who has lasting power of attorney for health. Where appropriate, discussions around options for assessment and treatment can be discussed with the wider multi disciplinary team (MDT).
The gold standard for the disclosure of information is informed consent, unless there are clear legal reasons why this should be overridden (such as the Mental Capacity Act or a safeguarding concern). Where information sharing is part of the care process and patients are made aware of the option to refuse disclosure, consent may be implied. In all other cases, specific and expressed consent must be sought. Care must be taken not to disclose information about third parties and an electronic record must be kept about any disclosure. Where patients lack capacity, or in cases of safeguarding, guidance should be sought before disclosure.
Accountability
It is the responsibility of Severn Physiotherapy to ensure that all physiotherapists working under this name have access to a GDPR compliant notes system and to have an up to date Privacy Policy which can be viewed by team members on the Associate section of the website.