What is informed consent?
Informed consent means that a person willingly and knowingly agrees to undergo a particular treatment. It has three elements: voluntariness, knowledge, and mental capacity.
Voluntariness means that the person must be free from all coercion or threats. It also means that the person can withdraw consent at any time.
Knowledge means that the person has been given the following information about treatment with ECT: how the treatment will be administered, the expected benefits, the possible risks, alternative forms of treatment, and what may happen if ECT is not administered. You should be able to understand the information provided, have time to study it, and be able to ask hospital staff and your doctor questions.
Capacity means that you have the mental ability to understand the information given to you, to weight that information and to make a decision.
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