Consent in the UK

Last quality assured: 10/02/2026

2-hour read

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Applicable for any nurse looking to learn.

This guidance will cover the law on consent to care and treatment, including the care and treatment of those who are not capable of giving a valid consent.

Who is this resource for?

All nurse roles

Resource lead(s)

Contact details for this resource lead:

Owena

Simpson

Head of Nursing Education

Contact Owena

Acknowledgements

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This guidance will cover the law on consent to care and treatment, including the care and treatment of those who are not capable of giving a valid consent.

Consent in the UK

This guide will cover the law of consent for England and Wales.

This guide will cover the law of consent for Scotland.

This guide will cover the law of consent for Northern Ireland.

The RCN delivers quality-assured and up-to-date resources for the nursing workforce. Reviewed annually, RCN Learn resources meet the RCN Nine Quality Standards.

Resource last reviewed 10/02/2026

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Downloaded content date

PDF created on: 17 Apr 2026.

Downloaded from: https://rcnlearn.rcn.org.uk/Testing/Consent-in-the-UK.

Please check: https://rcnlearn.rcn.org.uk for a more up-to-date version of this content.

Last reviewed: 10/02/2026

Last quality assured: 10/02/2026

2-hour read