Rules over surgery consent in Sandwell tightened after series of blunders

The rules for getting consent from patients for surgery at Sandwell hospitals are being tightened up after a series of safety incidents.

In 2012 a patient being cared for by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust was placed under a 'do not attempt resuscitation' order without full consultation with the patient or their family.

Following the incident, a coroner involved in the case told the trust to look at its procedures.

And in December 2012 and November 2013, two 'never events' – incidents which should not occur to patients – happened after there was a failure to properly get consent.

Last autumn health watchdog the Care Quality Commission raised concerns with the trust, which runs Sandwell and Rowley Regis Hospitals as well as City Hospital in Birmingham, about how staff get consent.

Now the trust has said it has tightened the rules to help ensure safety for patients, and has also stepped up the consequences for those not following the rules.

A trust spokesman said: "We are not changing our consent procedure, but as part of our commitment to ensuring patient safety we are strengthening the process and consequences of not strictly following the procedure every time.

"In this we are providing support for our clinicians to ensure each patient is able to give informed consent at the right time.

"This follows two 'never events' which took place in December 2012 and November 2013 where it was determined that patient consent procedures were not followed correctly, although no lasting harm occurred to either patient involved."

Staff not adhering to the stricter rules could face a period of supervision, or disciplinary proceedings. A report to a trust board meeting yesterday stated that in a recent audit of those being scheduled for procedures in advance, there was no evidence that consent was taken before the day of the surgery in more than a quarter of cases.

In 39 per cent of cases where consent was taken on the day, it could have been done prior to admission. Evidence that patients were given written information about giving consent was only found in 28 per cent of cases.

The 'strengthened' processes will now be implemented from October 1 for those with planned care or those who have accessed hospital services directly, with an audit of the processes in emergency cases set to take place in October.

For those with planned procedures, patients will have the first part of consent taken when they are added to waiting lists, while those booking procedures directly will be issued with written material at the time.