Advice centre

You owe a duty of confidentiality to all your patients, past or present, even if they are adults who lack capacity. You may be asked to provide information from the medical records of patients who are incapable of giving consent, are aged under 18, or have died. This factsheet gives you further information about dealing with these circumstances.

Making and using audio and visual recordings of patients can benefit medical training, research and treatment. However, it poses risks for doctors regarding consent and confidentiality.

Valid consent is just as important when treating children and young people as it is with adults. In some situations children are able to give consent themselves, and sometimes others need to take the decision on their behalf. This factsheet sets out the basic information to enable you to obtain the appropriate consent from children and young people.

Certain circumstances can mean you are obliged to disclose information about a patient, even if you do not have their consent; under other circumstances, disclosure may be justifiable. This factsheet gives you further information about these circumstances.

You owe a duty of confidentiality to all your patients, past or present, even if they are adults who lack capacity. You may be asked to provide information from the medical records of patients who are incapable of giving consent, are aged under 16, or have died. This factsheet gives you further information about dealing with these circumstances.

If a death occurs in a violent or unnatural manner, in custody, or suddenly but without certain cause, the Procurator Fiscal has a duty to inquire into the death. This factsheet sets out the role of the Procurator Fiscal, the reporting process and what will happen once you have reported a death to the Procurator Fiscal.

Respect for patients’ autonomy is expressed in consent law; to impose care or treatment on people without respecting their wishes and right to self-determination is not only unethical, but illegal.