Consent to treatment
Explains your rights around giving consent to or refusing treatment. Find out what consent means, when you could be treated without your consent, and how to make complaints.
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Planning ahead for treatment
This page covers:
Why might I want to plan ahead?
Planning ahead is a way for you to set out how you want to be treated in future, so health professionals can follow your wishes.
Generally, you have the right to decide if you want to consent to treatment. But if something happens in the future which means you lack capacity to decide:
- The health professional in charge of your care will normally decide for you, unless it's a serious treatment.
- Their decision will be based on what they think will be in your best interests. But this might not be exactly what you want.
If you're sectioned, health professionals should take your wishes into account when treating you, but they don't have to follow them.
How can I plan ahead?
There are 3 main ways you can plan ahead and set out your wishes for future treatment:
- Make an advance statement. This is a written document setting out your preferences for medical and healthcare treatment. It includes only your treatment preferences, not refusals. It is not legally binding. You can ask a health professional to follow this document if you ever lack capacity to make these decisions yourself.
- Make an advance decision. This can be a written document or spoken statement of instructions. It sets out any medical and healthcare treatment you want to refuse. It includes only your treatment refusals, not preferences. It is legally binding. It can be used in the future at any point where you lack capacity to make decisions. For more information, see our page on advance decisions.
- Make a lasting power of attorney. This is a legal document that lets you choose someone to make decisions for you. For more information, see our page on lasting power of attorney.
You can find out more about each of these ways to plan ahead in our pages on the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Find information about crisis services and planning options in our pages on crisis services.
Consent
Consent is you agreeing with another person about an action that they’ve proposed.
The law says that consent is only valid if you:
- have capacity to decide
- have enough information to make that decision, and
- give your consent freely.
Section
Being 'sectioned' means that you are kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act. There are different types of sections, each with different rules to keep you in hospital. The length of time that you can be kept in hospital depends on which section you are detained under.
See our pages on sectioning for more information.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsCapacity
'Capacity' means the ability to understand information and make decisions about your life. Sometimes it can also mean the ability to communicate decisions about your life.
For example, if you do not understand the information and are unable to make a decision about your treatment, you are said to 'lack capacity' to make decisions about your treatment.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsBest interests
Health professionals must act in your best interests before taking certain steps that affect your care and treatment.
The Mental Capacity Act has a best interests checklist, which outlines what health professionals need to consider before taking an action or decision for you while you lack capacity.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
Visit our full listing of Legal TermsThis information was published in September 2022. We will revise it in 2025.
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