Obtaining consent is fundamental within the National Health Service, for all types of procedures. This gives patients and clients the opportunity to accept or refuse a type of treatment based on the explanation given by a doctor (NHS, 2019). This essay will explore in detail what consent is, how informed consent differs from consent, and how it is applied in speech therapy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Consent is when a person voluntarily accepts someone else's proposal. In the healthcare sector the proposal would come from the doctor. This event is something that must be followed by all healthcare professionals following NHS guidelines and Health and Care Professions Council standards. To correctly obtain consent, service users must be made aware of what a certain treatment or procedure entails. This should be explained by a doctor so that the service user can decide based on all the facts provided. This is classified as informed consent. As part of obtaining consent, the patient's capacity must be assessed, as set out in the principles of the Mental Health Act (2005). Doctors must also provide the service user with both the benefits and risks of the procedure or treatment and inform them of any alternatives. Furthermore, to obtain full consent, the service user must voluntarily accept or consent. This means that they should not be pressured by anyone to accept or refuse the proposed treatment or procedure. Furthermore, whenever they inform service users about a particular procedure, doctors must always ensure that they give them the right to withdraw to obtain full informed consent (NHS, 2019). This consent may be obtained verbally or in writing. There may be cases in some healthcare practices where the patient or client can comply by showing consent, for example, by rolling up their sleeves and allowing you to draw blood. Consent is also important when it comes to the dissemination of information. In order for doctors and professionals to share patient information, the patient must first consent. For example, healthcare providers may need to refer each other, which involves disclosing patient information. Obtaining informed consent may sometimes constitute a conflict of interest. Sometimes, researchers or doctors want to see a clear cause and effect relationship between two variables. However, to fully obtain informed consent, participants must be aware of all aspects of a given procedure. This could result in demand characteristics. This is when participants believe they understand the purpose of something and therefore change their behavior to match their belief. However, there are exceptions when it comes to obtaining consent. For example, if a client lacks capacity to give consent, clinicians may act in the client's best interests. Furthermore, if it is believed that informing the customer could cause harm, legally the information should be withheld. However, failure to obtain this informed consent could lead to serious consequences for the professional. Speech-language pathologists, like all healthcare professionals, are committed to following and supporting all guidelines provided to them. Speech pathologists work with and assist a wide variety of people, with many different abilities. When working with people with certain disabilities or circumstances, special care is needed.