Consenting to treatment

Consenting to treatment at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

We are changing the way we consult with you on your treatment

The Trust is starting a new way of documenting consent digitally from August 2024 onwards. This has several benefits to both patients and staff. This includes:

• Supports consent conversations
• Complies with legal obligations, specifically Montgomery principles
• Fewer procedures cancelled on the day
• Strong record keeping, protects staff if disputes arise
• Maximises potential to defend legal claims (for alleged failures to obtain informed consent)
• Extractable audit trail of exchanges of information, risks and benefits shared with patient (including links to evidence-based information online)
• Process will assist clinicians with ensuring nothing is missed

How does it work?

The doctor or other healthcare professional discusses the procedure and shares information specific to your treatment for you to read. When you are happy to proceed an online form is signed by you, either with your clinician or at home. This is saved in an electronic consent form which stays secure in your electronic patient record, available only to hospital staff as and when needed. The hospital may communicate with you by text or email to provide the details about your consent.

You may be contacted after you have signed your consent to complete a short survey in regards to your experience of the consent process.  By completing this survey, you are contributing to the potential improvement of our services however it is entirely optional.

The Digital Patient Consent service is being run by a company called Concentric who are a UK based company with headquarters in Cardiff, Wales.

How will I be contacted by Concentric?

You may receive genuine communication from your clinician via Concentric, either as an email from the email address notifications@concentric.health, or as an SMS from a mobile contact named ‘Concentric’.

How do I know the message I’ve received is not a scam?

You may receive genuine communication from your clinician via Concentric, either by email, addressed from “Sandwell Trust” via notifications@concentric.com entitled “Important information about your upcoming treatment” or as an SMS text message from “Concentric”.  This ensures the message is not a scam.

Does this cost anything?

There is no cost to you for any email or text from the Trust.

I’ve received an email or text but why can’t I access the link provided?

The most common reason is when the communication is for a family member for whom we have your mobile phone number or email address for (e.g. a child) you need to use their date of birth to verify and not your own. Try this first. If you still cannot log in with your details, please contact our Central Patient Booking Service on: 0121 507 4151 to check we have your most up to date information. (8.30am – 5pm, Monday – Friday).

What if I change my mind?

This is called revoking consent and patients can do this at any time.  Contact your consultant’s Medical Secretary or speak with your doctor or nurse.

Can someone consent on my behalf?

Yes, parents, guardians or other legal representatives will still be able to sign on behalf of the patient.

Do I have to use digital consent if I don’t want to or can’t?

The consent will be completed with your clinical team and so there is no need to have digital access at home; this is purely optional.

What will the data be used for?

The data will only ever be used by the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals to manage the consent process as part of your treatment.

Where is my data stored?

All data is secure within the NHS’s own secure environment and shared only with Concentric Health, the computer system supplier of the consent system.  Their data hosting platform is Google Cloud Platform which is fully compliant with all NHS information governance requirements.

Once the consent episode is completed, a PDF version of the consent form is automatically transferred into the Trust’s electronic patient record systems.

Find out more about Concentric Health Ltd here

Where can I get further information?

Any queries about our new electronic consent process or ideas on improvements or feedback in general can be sent to Compliments, Complaints and Comments | Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (swbh.nhs.uk)

What is Concentric Health?

Concentric Health is a UK based company.

Concentric Health Ltd.
Registration number: 10733991.

You can find out more information on the Concentric website.