Inadequate Information And Informed Consent Prior To Hysterectomy Surgery 20HDC01996

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rose Wall has
found a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist breached
the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’
Rights (the Code) for failing to provide a woman with
adequate information to enable her to provide informed
consent to treatment.

The woman at the centre of this
case underwent surgery to manage heavy menstrual bleeding.
The surgery included a total bilateral hysterectomy and a
bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries and
fallopian tubes).

Ms Wall found the specialist
breached right 7 – the right to make an informed choice and
give informed consent | whakaritenga mōu ake – for failing
to inform the woman preoperatively that removal of her
ovaries would render her menopausal.

The surgeon also
failed to give the woman information about the surgical risk
of injury to the bladder wall, which occurred in this case
and caused a complicated recovery.

While the
postoperative care met accepted standards, Ms Wall found the
specialist breached Right 6 – which gives consumers the
right to full information | whakamōhio.

“As part of
the informed consent process, undertaken prior to the
hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo oophorectomy, the woman
should have been informed about the risk of injury to the
bladder,” Ms Wall said.

The case highlights the
importance of the informed consent process, and consumers
being given all the relevant information to enable them to
make an informed decision on their care.

“This is also
outlined in the relevant guidance on informed consent from
the Medical Council and the Royal Australian and New Zealand
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.”

Ms Wall
made several recommendations
in the report for the obstetrician and gynaecologist to
improve their management of informed consent for future
consumers.

© Scoop Media