Obtaining consent is essential within the NHS, for all types of procedures. This gives patients and clients the opportunity to accept or decline a type of treatment based on the explanation given to them by a clinician (NHS, 2019). This essay will explore in detail what consent is, how informed consent differs from assent, and how it is applied in speech therapy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Consent is when a person voluntarily accepts a proposal from someone else. In the health field, the proposal would come from the clinician. This event must be attended by all healthcare professionals in accordance with NHS guidelines and Health and Care Professions Council standards. To properly obtain consent, service users must be informed of what a certain treatment or procedure involves. This should be explained by a clinician so that the service user can make a decision based on all the facts presented. This is considered informed consent. As part of obtaining consent, the patient's capacity must be assessed, in accordance with the principles of the Mental Health Act (2005). Clinicians should also inform the service user of the benefits and risks of the procedure or treatment, advising them of possible alternatives. Additionally, to fully obtain consent, the service user must agree or agree voluntarily. This means that they should not be under any pressure from anyone to accept or refuse the proposed treatment or procedure. Additionally, when informing service users about a certain procedure, clinicians should always ensure that they give them the right to opt out in order to obtain fully informed consent (NHS, 2019). This consent may be obtained verbally or in writing. There may be instances in some health care practices where the patient or client can comply by showing consent, such as rolling up their sleeves to allow you to draw blood. Consent is also important when it comes to the dissemination of information. Before clinicians and practitioners can share information about a patient, the patient must first consent. For example, healthcare professionals may need to refer to each other, which involves disclosing patient information. Obtaining informed consent can sometimes constitute a conflict of interest. Sometimes researchers or clinicians want to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship between two variables. Yet, in order to fully obtain informed consent, participants must be aware of all aspects of a certain procedure. This may result in demand characteristics. This is when participants believe they have understood the purpose of something and thus change their behavior to match their belief. However, there are exceptions when it comes to obtaining consent. For example, if a client does not have the capacity to provide consent, clinicians can act in the client's best interest. Additionally, if it is considered that informing the customer could cause them harm, legally, the information should be withheld. However, failure to obtain this informed consent could result in serious consequences for the professional. Speech therapists, like all health professionals, strive to follow and enforce all guidelines that apply to them...