“No decision about me, without me”
What does consent mean? It means agreement
Before a doctor, nurse or any other health professional can examine or treat you, they must have your agreement, or consent.
You must be given enough information so that you can understand what is involved and can think clearly about the advantages and disadvantages of different treatments or procedures.
Depending on the clinical situation, there might be alternatives that can be offered to you and you might have the option of doing nothing for a while before looking at your options again.
You should be allowed to make up your mind without pressure from other people and, if it is not an emergency, be given enough time to think things over.
For more information on your rights as a patient, please go to:
https://www.nhslothian.scot/YourRights
https://www.birthrights.org.uk/
Your basic birth rights – translated – Birthrights
To support discussions about your options and choices, your midwife will give you this sticker at your first appointment:
You can ask these questions in any situation and to any health professional you meet during your maternity care.
This BRAIN sticker is available in 15 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Hindi, Hungarian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.
Please ask your midwife for the BRAIN sticker in your language, they will be happy to print one for you.
BRAIN Translations – Maternity Services (nhslothian.scot)
Do you want to know more about your rights to make decisions about your healthcare and treatment? You will find all the information you need in this booklet Consent- it’s your decision. Also available in different formats and languages.
