Reflection period for consent
Paterson Inquiry · Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · Issued 4 February 2020 · Addressed to: GMC
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
We recommend that there should be a short period introduced into the process of patients giving consent for surgical procedures, to allow them time to reflect on their diagnosis and treatment options. The GMC should monitor this as part of Good Medical Practice.
Paterson Inquiry, Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · 4 Feb 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The December 2022 implementation update stated that NHS England had established a Shared Decision-Making Board, mandated two-stage decision-making for all admitted non-day case pathways by April 2023 and all admitted pathways by April 2024, and published 11 decision support tools in July 2022 with 8 additional tools scheduled for April 2023 (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
- The Professional Record Standards Body published a shared decision-making standard in June 2022 (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
- The Independent Healthcare Providers Network refreshed the Medical Practitioners Assurance Framework in September 2022, specifying policies on consent, decision-making, and allowing appropriate time for decisions (Paterson Inquiry Implementation Update, DHSC, December 2022).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
Accepted in principle. GMC guidance on consent (updated 2020) already emphasises patients should have time to consider information before making decisions. The guidance states patients should not be placed under pressure to make decisions quickly. NHS England is working with Royal Colleges to embed cooling-off periods in clinical practice for elective procedures. Full implementation being monitored. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
UK Government · 16 Dec 2021
●GMC — follow-up
Accepted in principle. GMC guidance on consent (updated 2020) already emphasises patients should have time to consider information before making decisions. The guidance states patients should not be placed under pressure to make decisions quickly. NHS England is working with Royal Colleges to embed cooling-off periods in clinical practice for elective procedures. Full implementation being monitored. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
GMC · 16 Dec 2021
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.